Minister of Power and Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka refuted the allegations that he had presented a proposal to the Cabinet to increase salaries of engineers of Ceylon Electricity Board. He said that the accusation made by Wasantha Samarasinghe, Convener of Voice against Corruption, was baseless and he will take legal action against the statement.

The Minister said in a media release that the former Managing Director had led an internal plan to increase the salaries of only his favorites in the engineering sector in CEB. There was an inquiry on the matter carried out under the present Deputy Chairman Nihal Wickramasuriya.

Ranawaka insisted that he will not allow corruption in the power and energy sector anymore. Meanwhile, inquiries into malpractices during the past will also be carried out.

Furthermore, Ranawaka said that he has enough experience of the activities of the JVP from his past tenure as Minister of Power and Energy. Adding that mere trade union action will not help win demands, he said that his objective is to make the CEB and other institutions consumer-friendly and efficient.