China has allegedly sent USD 7.6 million to Mahinda Rajapaksa and his affiliates to fund his campaign for 2020 Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka. This was alleged in an article published by New York Times On June 25. NYT cited an internal government investigation as the source of its publication on the 2020 Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka. Is Rajapaksa, know for his anti-India and pro-China stance being funded by Beijing for upcoming elections in Sri Lanka?
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After the article was carried in the New York Times, Ranjan Ramanayake, the deputy minister for Social Empowerment filed a complaint against Mahinda Rajapaksa. He approached the Financial Crimes Investigation Department based on the report published in the New York Times. He also told the local media that before filing the complaint he did contact the journalists of the New York Times who have worked on this report.
Meanwhile, Rajapaksa said that India can have the biggest political impact on Sri Lanka’s election, adding that he expected India will not “meddle with” Sri Lanka’s internal political affairs.
Did RAW script Mahinda Rajapaksa’s downfall in 2015?
In the 2015 elections the former president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated by Maithripala Sirisena. Did RAW have anything to do with this? On January 8 Mahinda Rajapaksa was voted out of power. It was then alleged that the RAW had helped Maithripala Sirisena to dethrone Mahinda Rajapaksa. The chief of the Colombo station of the Indian spy agency was expelled by Sri Lanka with accusations of conspiring against Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sources suggested that India was urged to recall their Colombo chief.
When it comes to politics in Sri Lanka, India has always had a role to play. In 1987, India event deployed its troops in Sri Lanka to establish peace in Sri Lanka and conduct elections peacefully. Sri Lanka was then caught amid a war between the government and the LTTE.
To see Mahinda Rajapaksa’s defeat after two consecutive terms was strange. India at the same time was getting concerned about Sri Lanka’s escalating allegiance towards China. So, did the RAW intentionally conspired against Mahinda Rajapaksa to take him away from power in order to tackle the increasing Chinese influence?
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