The Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing allegations of large scale corruption between January 15, 2015 and December 31, 2018 has asked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to appear before it, on September 12, in connection with an ongoing investigation into a questionable lease agreement signed between the Agriculture Ministry and DP Jayasinghe company at a total cost of Rs. 1.3 billion.

The summons were faxed, yesterday, to the Prime Minister’s Office and Temple Trees and the original document will be hand-delivered, today.

Wickremesinghe will be questioned on the Cabinet paper he presented on 21 Sept, 2015 to establish Sectoral Oversight Committees in the Govijana Mandiraya. Former Minister of Agriculture, Duminda Dissanayake has told the PCoI that they were compelled to relocate the ministry in 2016 due to continuous pressure from Parliament and the Prime Minister, and because attempts to relocate the Ministry to the newly constructed Suhurupaya had failed.

Dissanayake said that the PM had appointed a committee headed by his Secretary to see if there were privately owned buildings that could house the ministry.

Former Secretary to the Ministry, B. Wijeratne, who ultimately signed the agreement with D.P Jayasinghe, was a member that committee. The committee identified three privately owned buildings around Battaramulla and Dissanayake himself went to inspect the largest of the alternatives.

Dissanayake said that he had dropped the idea of relocating the ministry twice as the Ministry officials as well as a committee appointed by the PM had failed to find a suitable location.

"Then the Prime Minister met me and said that there was a building owned by D. P. Jayasinghe company. I was instructed to see if that had adequate space," Dissanayake said.