Speaking to the media after giving his statement, Ranawaka said that a Police B report submitted to court suggests that the investigation is politically motivated and linked to issues he had recently raised against the government.
He said that he and his party had continuously pointed out several national issues based on what he described as scientific and factual evidence, and not on speculation. According to him, one such matter was the controversy regarding the release of 323 containers, which he said was raised based on a report submitted by the Additional Secretary of the relevant ministry.
Ranawaka also referred to the recent islandwide power outage, which was initially blamed on a monkey, and claimed that they had presented technical evidence to show that the failure was caused by a system trip connected to the Victoria Dam power facility. He said the matter was highlighted to show weaknesses in the power supply system.
He further stated that his party had warned authorities in advance about the possible impact of Cyclone Ditwah, adding that those warnings were based on official weather information and expert analysis. However, he claimed that the government had failed to take adequate precautions despite prior notice.
Speaking on the issue of coal imports for power generation, Ranawaka alleged that concerns were raised with sufficient evidence regarding the quality of coal being imported. He said the authorities should respond to such allegations with facts instead of launching investigations against those who expose them.
He also said that they plan to present their position on the coal import issue before the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka today (18).
Ranawaka warned that if the government decides to increase electricity tariffs in the coming weeks, they would strongly oppose the move and organise protests against any price hike that would place an additional burden on the public.
The CCD is conducting further investigations into the matter.
