Mahindananda Aluthgamage | |
|---|---|
மஹிந்தானந்த அளுத்கமகே | |
| Minister for Sport | |
| In office 22 November 2010 – 12 January 2015 | |
| President | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Prime Minister | D. M. Jayaratne |
| Preceded by | C. B. Rathnayake |
| Succeeded by | Navin Dissanayake |
| Ministry of Power and Energy | |
| Member of Parliament forKandy District | |
| In office 2000 – 24 September 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1964-11-21)21 November 1964 (age 60) Nawalapitiya,Central Province,Sri Lanka |
| Political party | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| Spouse | Asha Aluthgamage |
| Residence(s) | No. 2/110, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 07. |
| Alma mater | Royal College, Colombo Gangasiripura Vidyalaya Gampola |
| Occupation | Politician |
Mahindananda Aluthgamage (Sinhala:මහින්දානන්ද අලුත්ගමගේ) (born 21 November 1964) is aSri Lankanpolitician and a former Minister of Sports.[1] He has also served as Deputy Minister of Power and Energy. He is currently serving as the state minister of Power and Energy.[2]
He was a exMember of Parliament representing theKandy Electoral District. He was educated atGangasiripura VidyalayaGampola[3][4] andRoyal College Colombo. He lost his position as a minister in 2015 when former PresidentMahinda Rajapaksha was defeated in the election. He is well known for his ability to speakSinhala,Tamil andEnglish fluently and gained popularity among the Tamil community for his political rallies in Northern Province.[5]
He entered mainstream politics in 1990 at the age of 25.[5] He served as a people's representative in the Sri Lankan Parliament in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2010 and 2020. He served as the minister of sports from 2010 to 2015.[6][7][8]
He was sworn in as the state minister of Power and Energy on 27 November 2019.[9] In February 2020, his position was later changed and modified as state minister of Renewable Energy and Power.[10] In June 2020, he was appointed as the spokesperson for the Sri Lankan government.[11] In June 2020, he completed his 30 years of politics.[12]
Aluthgamage lost his parliamentary seat in2024.[13] Following the electoral defeat, he announced his retirement from politics.[14]
In 2018, he was accused of mishandling the funds during his tenure as sports minister from 2010 to 2015 and was arrested regarding the funds spent on imported cricket and other sports equipments.[15][6]
On 18 June 2020, in an interview withNews First he made a shocking allegation that during his tenure as sports minister the2011 World Cup final featuringIndia andSri Lanka was fixed and further claimed that the2011 World Cup trophy was sold to India without specifying any evidence.[16][17] He didn't reveal the details of the cricketers supposedly involved and insisted that he will not disclose the details for the sake of the country with absolute responsibility.[18] His comments drew widespread criticism and global media attention among the cricket fraternity.[19][20] Former Sri Lankan cricketersMahela Jayawardene andKumar Sangakkara who were part of the World Cup final denied the allegations and claimed that the minister was seeking forpublicity stunt and political advantage ahead of theupcoming parliamentary election.[21] TheMinistry of Sports also launched an investigation to probe the allegations made by Mahindananda.[22]
Ex Sri Lanka cricket team captainArjuna Ranatunga also made a serious allegation that the2011 Cricket World Cup Final match between India and Sri Lanka had been fixed.[23] Both Aluthgamage and Ranatunga demanded a probe into the events at the final match.[24] TheInternational Cricket Council stated that it will investigate him based on his match-fixing allegations under ICC anti-corruption unit.[25][26] On 25 June 2020, however he claimed that his allegations were only suspicion and demanded for an independent investigation regarding the fixing claims.[27] Although Sri Lankan Police conducted a probe, they later dropped it citing lack of evidence.[28] LaterInternational Cricket Council rubbished thematch fixing claims made by Ranatunga and Aluthgamage.[29]
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