Minister Bimal Rathnayake has rejected a claim made by opposition MP Harsha de Silva that Duminda Hulangamuwa, the current economic adviser to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, had previously served as an economic adviser to former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Responding to remarks made by de Silva in Parliament on Wednesday (21), Rathnayake said the claim was completely false and called on the opposition MP to correct his statement.Rathnayake said Hulangamuwa had never served as an economic adviser to Wickremesinghe or any previous president or prime minister.He explained that Hulangamuwa had served on various committees during his tenure as chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, but those positions were connected to his role in the business community and were not appointments as Wickremesinghe’s economic adviser.

The minister further claimed that Hulangamuwa only accepted a formal economic advisory position under the National People’s Power (NPP) government.He urged de Silva to withdraw or correct his remarks.he response followed de Silva’s statement in Parliament questioning why the current government was relying on the same economic expert whom he claimed had advised the previous administration, despite its criticism of Wickremesinghe’s economic policies.Hulangamuwa was formally appointed as a senior adviser on economic affairs and finance to President Dissanayake, effective September 24, 2024.

He also serves as chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka.