Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga says it will take two months to hand over her official residence even if the Presidential Disqualification Act is implemented.
Responding to an inquiry by the Daily Mirror seeking her views on the implementation of the new law, she said that she has found another house in Colombo to settle in, but it is still undergoing renovations.
She said that according to regulations, anyone residing in a government house must be given three months’ notice before moving out, and she has not been informed in this regard so far. She stated that she does not intend to stay in her official residence for more than two months, and that if the renovations underway in the new house are completed before that, the official residence can be handed over in two months.
She said that she is recovering from a hip surgery after a fall three weeks ago and is currently unable to go upstairs even from the ground floor. She also said that she is currently receiving daily physiotherapy treatment.
She also stated that she had sent a letter to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake requesting permission to reside in the official residence where she is currently residing for the rest of her life by paying a government-assessed rent, but the letter was rejected.
She said that in the letter sent to the President, she stated that she was the only one of the five retired presidents who had not been tested by the current government.