The team involved in promoting former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the next Presidential elections, says it is not aware if China is funding his campaign.
Asked about speculation that China was pumping in money for the campaign, which is currently being conducted on a large scale, Rajapaksa’s spokesman, Parliamentarian Keheliya Rambukwella told the Colombo Gazette that he was not aware if China was involved.
However, he said that the business community and other professions are pushing for a Government change and are supporting Rajapaksa to bring about the change they expect.
“Several businessmen have given their blessings to Gotabaya Rajapaksa,” Rambukwella said.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been named the Presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
The SLPP is led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is known to have a close relationship with China.
During Rajapaksa’s term as President, China and Sri Lanka developed a very close bilateral relationship resulting in several projects in Sri Lanka being funded by the Chinese.
During his ongoing campaign to be President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has had several meetings, most of which have been on a grand scale, requiring a lot of funding.
(Colombo Gazette)