Why is Akila Viraj Kariyawasam angry at the media?

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Journalists asked the General Secretary of the United National Party, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, on disciplinary action he instituted against two Non-Cabinet Ministers of the Party. Kariyawasam noted that in spite of most party members being his friends he has to seek disciplinary action against some as the secretary of the party. A journalist questioned whether the disciplinary action was taken after several backbench MPs has resorted to supporting Minister Sajith Premadasa. He responded that presidential candidates are not chosen on the streets. A journalist pointed that if the Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is not attending to his tasks and the Deputy Leader would, it was natural for the deputy leader to be highlighted among people. The minister blurted out that both Leader and Deputy Leader will tend to their duties and it was the media's duty to be independent. He went on and noted that if everyone fulfilled their duties politicians would resort to doing the same. He went on to note that they could not afford a split within the party and they all remain within the parameters of the UNP agenda. He finally added that they would not name candidates depending on any external factors. Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam seems to be acting hesitantly and irately in front of the media as of late. Is it because the minister is enraged at the media? We would like to know the true reason for the minister's behaviour. As you might have seen from the previous news item, Minister Kariyawasam states that the media should not be the judge of whether they are fulfilling their duties or not and that various media institutions have distorted the truth while expressing their own opinions. Is it so? Why is the minister so hesitant all of a sudden? The exposes and revelations we make are not based on the activities conducted by the Minister through money which come out from his own pocket. The revelations were regarding large scale malfeasance which was about to occur at the Ministry of education. That is the scam that is about be carried out under the guise of providing tabs to school students. Is it not through public funds of the people of this country that those tabs are bought? Therefore, as the 4th pillar of democracy, is it not our responsibility to point out these misdealings to the nation? However, we will not stop reporting on these matters. It should also be pointed out that our intention was not to oppose this move of tabs being distributed to school children. It certainly should be done. However, the method or procedure being adopted seems to be doubtful and dubious. The Cabinet Memorandum which we brought to your attention yesterday, includes similar details that we brought to your attention on previous occasions. Our first doubt was as to what sort of educational purpose would be fulfilled through these tabs. According to this cabinet memorandum, the learning content or syllabi recommended by the National Institute of Education must be purchased. Where can the content recommended by the National Institute of Education be found? Although they are attempting to purchase these tabs, they do not seem to have even a rough idea of what they would be utilized for. That is one fact. The other is the fact that the Ministry of Education chose the most expensive bidder, in the process of buying these tabs, attempting to paying a gargantious sum of Rs 7.2bn. However, this was struck down by the Procurement Appeal Board stating it was wrong to choose the most expensive bidder. There were many other revelations we made yesterday regarding this matter. Moreover, the initial decision was to distribute the tabs for a period of 5 years. But later it was decided to provide it for just 2 years. Which means they will have to purchase new tabs every 2 years. Is this not a waste? Are there no pressing matters in the Education sector that requires funding? Should this be on top of the priority list of the Ministry of Education? Meanwhile, Minister Ajith P. Perera, responded to the letter sent by Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, inquiring details about disciplinary action. Ajith P. Perera, Non-Cabinet Min. of Digital Infrastructure & Information Technology noted that he would not frett over a mere letter as he did not worry when his life was threatened on numerous occasions. He added that there are several individuals within the party who claims they are qualified to be the presidential candidate, however they are not questioned. He stated that it was better to tend them before sending letters to him regarding disciplinary inquiries. He noted that Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha, MP Upali Priyantha and the infamous individual related to the bond scam were not subjected to a disciplinary inquiry due to their misconduct. He added that during the 52-day revolution he raised his voice to regain power and back then no one was against them. He questioned whether this was an attempt to force them to the opposition and whether there were any members who did not want Minister Sajith Premadasa to be the president of the country?