Reports claiming that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been hospitalised have reportedly triggered a dispute between the Namal Rajapaksa faction and the Mahinda Rajapaksa faction within the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
One of the two factions circulated a report earlier today claiming that Mahinda Rajapaksa had been admitted to a private hospital in Colombo due to a sudden cardiac condition.
Following a fresh inquiry with the party that initially published the report, the Ceylonwire.lk website also published the news, according to the account provided.
However, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s media spokesperson, Attorney-at-Law Manoj Gamage, has denied the reports, stating that claims that the former President has been hospitalised are false.
He further said that rumours claiming Mahinda Rajapaksa had been admitted to hospital due to an illness were entirely false. He alleged that political opponents were spreading false and malicious information in an attempt to portray the former President as weakened by the government’s alleged repressive actions.
Gamage also stated that Mahinda Rajapaksa remained a physically and mentally strong leader, even if all members of his family were imprisoned.
The reports have meanwhile raised questions about who circulated the claims concerning Mahinda Rajapaksa’s alleged hospitalisation.
