Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said he still had access to Lanka E News, through proxies. 

The website was blocked in Sri Lanka by telecommunication service providers after it ran a series of articles attacking President Maithripala sirisena.

Commenting on the website ban addressing a media forum in Colombo, Samaraweera said censorship was invalid in this day and age.

"I still read Lanka E News using proxy sites. It's meaningless to block websites. If someone attempts to block websites in this day and age, it will turn out to be a step backwards," Samaraweera added.

However, the Minister kept mum on who blocked the website and what led to the ban. 

He also stated that the conflict between the media and politician was essential to maintain a healthy and vibrant democracy. 

"Today, the state media provides news in a fairer manner than the private media. But, we've asked them to attack a little bit if someone bashes us. We too have a story to tell. But, we don't use state media to scold our political opponents in filth," the Media Minister said. 

The Media Minister also endorsed Prime Minister's remarks at the UNESCO sponsored event in Colombo on Monday to end impunity on attacks against journalists saying the Sri Lankan media heads paid little attention to such an important event.