Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe gave Tourism and Wildlife Minister John Amaratunga a rude shock this morning when he ordered to cancel an even where Amaratunga was expected to announce the appointments of the new chairpersons for the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotional Bureau (SLTPB), and the Sri Lanka Institute for Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM). 

The Prime Minister had reportedly ordered to cancel the appointments as Amaratunga had bypassed the Prime Minister when nominating heads for the institutions coming under him. The ministers have been advised by the Prime Minister to send their nominations to the Prime Minister's Office before sending them for the President's approval. 

It is learnt that Amaratunga has directly sent the names of the new appointees to the committee appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena to vet the resumes of the heads of the state institutions, nominated by ministers.  

It was against this backdrop that Wickremesinghe ordered to cancel the event and summoned Amaratunga's new appointees for a meeting. Journalists who were present at the SLITHM auditorium to cover the event this morning were sent back saying the event had been "postponed" due to unavoidable issues. 

Informed political sources said the Wickremesinghe's sudden move had humiliated Amaratunga who attempted to bypass the Prime Minister.

Amaratunga had nominated Kishu Gomes as the new Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority while Ranjit de Silva was appointed the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). 

Under John Amaratunga's tenure as the Tourism Minister, he appointed several chairpersons for the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau. Paddy Withana, Udaya Nanayakkara and Dehan Seneviratne served as chairmen of the SLTPB, under Amaratunga's watch.