Palitha Fernando lost at election, but appointed NOC deputy chairman

18 for Dampath, 13 for Palitha

 

Dampath obtained 18 votes, as against 13 votes by Palitha. However, Palitha has been declared the winner.

 

When questioned about this, the NOC only said there had been a shortcoming and kept silent. 

 

No to court action

 

When contacted, Dampath said there had been a mistake, but that he would not resort to court action as he did not want to inconvenience the new NOC administration. The election committee comprised former Sports Ministry secretary Dr. Ratnayake, Virithamulla and another - all three lawyers. Dampath said he did not want to inconvenience the trio as they did their job impartially without giving into uncalled for advice by the sports minister.

 

Rohan, Waruni in a rage

 

Rohan Fernando, who contested for the position of chairman, and his wife, Triad Advertising owner Waruni Amunugama, behaved in a rage after the defeat. Rohan telephoned former treasurer of the cycling federation, present NOC treasurer Senaka Ranasinghe, abused and threatened him with death. Senaka had recorded the audio, sent it back to Rohan, who became alarmed and apologized to him.

 

NOC members have evidence to show SMS messages sent by Waruni claiming that NOC chairman Suresh Subramaniam is a Tiger. Palitha had aided her to brand Suresh a Tiger.

 

Palitha was indicted in the Colombo high court last January over a Rs. 35.5 million fraud. Does he have a legal and an ethical right to function as the NOC deputy president? He boasts that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa will become the president in 2020 and clear him all the charges.