Speaking to the media in Colombo yesterday (06), Vitarana alleged the policies of COPE have changed under ther present regime.

He said the replacement at COPE for M. Velukumar, who has resigned, is said to be Sujeewa Senasinghe, who is accused of corruption.

Senasinghe’s appointment is another move to get Mahendran cleared, he charged.

UNP says Mahendran not responsible
Meanwhile, UNP members of COPE at its meeting on July 05 maintained Mahendran was not responsible for the bond issue fiasco.

A heated situation ensued as this claim was opposed, and Velukumar said there that he would resign.

The UNP also said the auditor general’s report into the bond issue should be reviewed by independent experts.

Before this COPE meeting, all its UNP members had a meeting with party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, where he gave them advice.

Meanwhile, new CB governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy is due to appear before COPE today.