Mohan turns down offer to co-chair Interim Committee

by Lal Gunasekera

I will certainly not co-chair an Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) with the present Chairman, Jayantha Dharmadasa. The cancellation of the annual general meeting which was scheduled for yesterday (Saturday) by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Jeevan Kumaratunga, is an undemocratic act.

So said Mohan de Silva who was to contest Dharmadasa for the top post at SLC at a media briefing on Friday evening at the SSC. He said that the Minister had allegedly said that he had cancelled the annual general meeting so that preparations for the Test series with South Africa, Triangular with India and South Africa and the all important World Cup in the West Indies next year (2007) will not be hindered. De Silva asked 'How can the Minister say these things now.

"These are flimsy excuses and they are just slinging mud at us." Our candidates for various posts (ex-DIG Jayantha Paranathala, Nuski Mohamed, Michael de Zoysa and Selva Perumal) are honourable persons in their chosen fields" said Mohan de Silva, who was thoroughly dejected about Minister Kumaratunga's decision to cancel the annual general meeting of SLC.

De Silva further said that the Minister would have taken this undemocratic decision after certain former Sri Lanka cricketers (Arjuna Ranatunga, Sidath Wettimuny, Roshan Mahanama, Graeme Labrooy, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Don Arunasiri, Uvais Karnain and Ranil Abeynaike) had met President Mahinda Rajapakse last Wednesday and made various complaints about "malpractices" that were happening before the annual general meeting.

Six names have been submitted to President Rajapakse for the new Interim Committee suggesting that both Jayantha Dharmadasa and Mohan de Silva be the co-Chairmen with the others being Arjuna Ranatunga (now a Deputy Minister of the government), Sidath Wettimuny as Secretary, Ken de Alwis and Pramodya Wickremasinghe.

However, Minister Kumaratunga told the Sunday Observer that a decision regarding this matter has not been finalised yet.