I Don't Agree With The President On Certain Issues
THE WEEK|May 19, 2019

I do not know why the information did not reach me.

Lakshmi Subramanian/Colombo
I Don't Agree With The President On Certain Issues

Q/ You said you did not get intelligence inputs about the attacks. Why?

A/ I do not know why the information did not reach me. But that is not the issue. The issue is the information which was available and not acted upon. If the information was acted upon, the attacks could have been prevented. Whether I knew it or not would have been just news for the Sunday papers. But it has become a national tragedy. So that is the question. But yes, as prime minister, I should have been informed. So, a commission has been appointed to look into it.

Q/ You said you were not invited to the national security council meetings since October.

A/ I was not called. But not many meetings of the council had taken place.

Q/ Doesn’t law and order come under your purview?

A/ It comes under the cabinet. Not under me. We are collectively responsible.

Q/ What was the reason for the intelligence breakdown?

A/ It went down. They did not act on it.

Q/ Are you probing it now?

A/ Yes. We have appointed a commission.

Q/ When is it likely to submit its report?

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