Certain individuals posing as media activists are allegedly blackmailing Members of Parliament facing court cases by claiming they can help settle the disputes with the respective complainants, MP Jagath Vithane said today (14).
“These individuals threaten to provide the media with information about the allegations faced by MPs unless the amounts they demand are paid,” Vithane told the Daily Mirror.
The MP alleged that one such individual had demanded Rs. 1 million from him and threatened to publicise claims concerning a land transaction in which he was involved 15 years ago.
“I sold a plot of land that belonged to me, and the buyers deposited the payment into my bank account. This so-called activist had asked the buyer to claim that I sold the land at an exorbitant price and had promised to pay them a certain amount,” he said.
Vithane maintained that the transaction was lawful, but alleged that the individual had already circulated claims portraying it as an illegal land deal.
“He demanded Rs. 1 million to stop spreading the false story about me,” the MP claimed.
