Samurdhi Commissioner General Kumari Navaratne yesterday charged that if any harm comes to her or to her children the Government and the Secretary of the Samurdhi Ministry Cyril Gunapala has to bear the full responsibility. She alleged that a gang was roaming at night around her residence.

Speaking to the press at her house Mrs. Navaratne said that the Samurdhi Commissioner General’s Office was sealed without her knowledge. She questioned onto what right Ministry Secretary Gunapala has to seal the Commissioner General’s office. "How has he been vested with such powers?" she queried.

She was certain that her office was sealed on the instructions of powerful politicians. "I worked hard to bring this government with utmost commitment from 1994. I worked hard to bring this government into power. I came to Sri Lanka in 1994 at the invitation of the President. I took over this office because of Minister S. B. Dissanayaka. I can’t understand why they are treating me like this," she lamented.

She said that she could not understand why she was treated in this manner because of the problems between President Kumaratunga and Minister S. B. Dissanayaka. "I sought redress from courts to stop my removal and the courts held in my favour. This is why they sealed off my office to prevent me from going there. Today I am deprived of taking legal action," she said.

She added that 64 employees at her office are seated on the staircase today because the office was sealed. "Public funds amounting to Rs. 7.4 million here blocked at the office today. This money belonged to the people. This money had to be paid to Samurdhi recipients. But she could not sign the documents needed to release this money. Innocent people will suffer because of this."

She explained how her office was sealed last Saturday : "Only myself and four other officers were present in the office on that day. But I saw a person called Jayaratne coming and removing some files from the office. When I inquired about that he said they were his private files. However I informed this to our security and made a note about it. By the time I made a complaint to the Thalangama police and returned the office was sealed."

"When an office is sealed off like this they can come to the office in the night, remove files and replace them with files they want. Such incidents have happened in history. Therefore I am not responsible for any activity in the Samurdhi Commissioner General’s office from last Saturday."

"All charges pertaining to Samurdhi were levelled against the Samurdhi authority and not against Samurdhi Commissioner General. These are two separate institutions," she said.

Mrs. Navaratne said that she even spoke in PA rallies to bring this government into power and was very close to President Kumaratunga.