Colombo (PTI): Sri Lanka's former president Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested on Friday for allegedly misusing the state funds, police said.
Wickremesinghe, 76, was arrested at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters, where he was summoned to record a statement in connection with an investigation into the alleged misuse of government funds, police said.
He has been accused of using state funds to travel to England to attend a convocation ceremony of his wife, Prof Maithree, in September 2023.
It has been alleged that Wickremesinghe was returning from the US after an official engagement and visited the UK at the state's expense to attend the private engagement of his wife.
The CID had previously questioned his staff about the travel expenses.
Wickremesinghe, who had replaced Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the President to serve the balance term until the end of 2024, was credited with steering Sri Lanka out of the economic crisis of 2022. He was president from July 2022 to September 2024.
The veteran politician also served as Sri Lanka's prime minister six times.
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday took a swipe at Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, by calling him a "Manuvadi" after his alliance with the BJP, for seeking the inclusion of Bhagavad Gita in curriculum for students.
The CM's dig came in response to Kumaraswamy's recent letter to Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan, requesting the inclusion of the Bhagavad Gita in the curriculum of students.
"After Kumaraswamy joined hands with the BJP for elections, he has become a Manuvadi," Siddaramaiah told reporters here after paying tributes to B R Ambedkar on his 69th death anniversary here.
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Remembering Ambedkar, Siddaramaiah highlighted his contribution to the Constitution and his relentless fight to provide social justice.
The CM noted said fed up with social and caste system in Hinduism, and unable to reform it, Ambedkar accepted Buddhism.
He said, "Ambedkar, towards the end of his life, quit Hinduism and joined Buddhism. He was born in Hinduism, but cannot die in Hinduism, because he could not reform Hinduism, despite several efforts, so he accepted Buddhism."
