Artistes scoff at Opposition’s claim they were bought over

Veteran artistes who met at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute on Tuesday challenged the Opposition to prove that artistes had been bought over by the government for sums ranging from Rs. 150,000 to Rs. 500,000.

Veteran Director and Producer Somaratne Dissanayake assured that none of the artistes had taken money from the government.

He said as public figures they thought it their responsibility to help elect a suitable president. They had carried out such a campaign earlier for the election of President Rajapaksa, he said.

Dissanayake said that President Rajapaksa had kept his pledge to eradicate terrorism and taken several initiatives to safeguard the culture and society at large.

Veteran musician Rohan Weerasinghe said that more than 95 per cent of the artistes were with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

He said that artistes would jointly organise a series of campaigns to ensure the victory of President Rajapaksa.

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