Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has asked the Police Department to put up 55 cutouts within the Colombo Municipal Council area before September 15.

The directive also states that the cutouts carry a photograph of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and of the so-called development projects carried out by the government. It has been estimated that cutouts of the size specified by the Defence Secretary would cost Rs. 250,000 and the Police Department would have to spend Rs. 13,750,000 for the 55 cutouts.

The Defence Secretary has undertaken the coordination of the government’s propaganda work for the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). He cannot intervene in election work while holding a public office. It is also illegal to issue orders related to election work to the Police Department, which is also a state institution.

The government is also considering using members of the three armed forces and the civil defence force to carry out similar work in future, sources said.