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Shabby treatment for Mahinda
Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapakse has reportedly been subject to shabby treatment by the government with many privileges due to him not being provided.

According to Mr. Rajapakse it has been six months since he assumed office but still an official residence has not been allocated to him. The official in charge of allocating residences has said a final decision has not been made in this respect.

Public Administration Minister Vajira Abeywardena confirmed this and said that the government was short of money to provide the necessary facility.

The vehicle which he is using is a bullet-proof one provided by the President, according to Mr. Rajapakse The vehicle which the government has provided him is a car which had been used by Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike when she was the opposition leader and later used by Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe when he was the opposition leader.

The post of opposition leader is on par with that of a Cabinet minister entitling its holder to all facilities that ministers are provided with.

However, Mr. Rajapakse claims that the opposition leader's office in Sravasti has been stripped down to the barest essentials, sans proper lighting and airconditioning, making life very difficult for him specially during media briefings.

The Sunday Times learns that the official opposition leader's residence has now been handed over to former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake.

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