POLITICS

Resignations, crossovers
and defections

The second week of the 13th parliament was not less eventful than the first with four parliamentarians being sworn in, one member resigning and another crossing over from opposition to government ranks.

A former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, a defeated Colombo District UPFA candidate Mervyn Silva and SLFP lawyer Wijedasa Rajapakse all made a grand appearance on Tuesday to be sworn in as new members of parliament. P. Ariyanethran of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) replaced Kingsley Rasanayagam, a member who resigned sans making a single appearance in the House.

Tuesday morning lacked no drama either, with UNP National List member Hussein Bhaila performing the pole vault and occupying a government seat claiming that more would follow him.

Before the day was out, controversial dissident monk of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Ven. Kathaluwe Rathanaseeha Thero too had submitted his resignation to the Secretary General of Parliament.

Wednesday morning saw yet another dramatic resignation, this time by UNP nominated member W. M. Pushpakumara. And he did not simply resign by making a special statement, but ended up alleging that a controversial deputy minister offered him the SLFP organiser  post of Harispattuwa - Pushpakumara's locality, a portfolio and money for his defection.

With horse-trading at its best at the portals of power, it seems that more defections and trading of conscience are likely to be witnessed in the days to come.

Complaints galore

Besides accepting resignations and swearing in new members, the Speaker also had to deal with a surfeit of complaints by MPs on Tuesday morn over alleged breaches of their parliamentary privileges.

Chief among them was beleaguered SLMC Leader Rauf Hakeem who claimed that the government had resorted to terrible methods of securing SLMC support, and to achieve this end had fabricated a false and scandalous story alleging that he had an illicit affair with a married woman and was unfit to lead a political party, leave alone the Muslim community.

Then there was Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero who drew attention to the fact that he was prevented from speaking from the floor of the House on April 22 when the UPFA simply shouted the monk down.

Swift on his heels to air his case next was the other JHU dissident monk, Ven. Aparekke Pannananda Thero who alleged that he was receiving death threats following the 'abduction' of Ven. Kathaluwe Rathanaseeha Thero, his rebellious colleague who has been a headline-making priest since his entry to the House on April 22.

On Wednesday morning, Deputy Ministers Sripathi Sooriyarachchi and Lasanatha Alagiyawanna both raised matters of privilege against The Sunday Leader for the article titled "A tale of deceit, blackmail and abuse of power" published in its May 13 issue.

They both told parliament that the article has imputed the meaning they have been part of a conspiracy to discredit the SLMC leader and had fabricated evidence for the same purpose, charges they refuted individually. It seems that the privileges committee is going to have a hyperactive year with two sessions yielding several complaints.

TNA shows the way

While the lack of tolerance among government ranks for opposition views becoming glaringly obvious, a true display of political maturity came from the 22 members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) when Rev. Dr. Omalpe Sobitha Thero critiqued the Tamil party for distorting history and twisting the recent incidents in Kandapola for political advantage.

The Ven. Sobitha Thero was given a full hearing by the entire group and later, one young TNA member was heard telling scribes that while the JHU and the TNA may never see eye to eye politically, there was one rule the TNA members wished to abide by. "A bhikku in our eyes is to be revered. Even if we don't accept their political position, we respect the great tradition to which they belong. So, we would never attempt to shout them down," a lesson the raucous UPFA members who pay lip service to the Buddhist cause would do well to learn.

Baila tunes over a mandate misconstrued

SLMC's Hussein Bhaila was the first MP of the new parliament to openly do the pole vault. The MP, who was brought to the House on the UNP ticket defected on Tuesday and declared that his reason for jumping was due to his party leader's repeated refusal to assist the UPFA to continue with the peace process, for which he claimed the government had received a mandate.

So ill tuned is he that the senior member forgot that the UPFA sought a mandate to halt the peace process and to prevent the division of the country through such process - and not to continue it!!

SLMC's alternative group

In a politically spectacular week, declaring independence were four rebel SLMC members out of which two were connected to the now infamous drama involving their a party leader.

Reshard Badudeen, M. Najeeb, Faizal Cassim and Amir Ali are on the warpath, but their newfound freedom was short-lived, as the party high command has swiftly moved to suspend all four! All's fair in love and war, or what?!!

Merv and peculiar noises

Defeat makes former legislators languish at home, but not for the fortunate kind like Mervyn Silva. Having polled some 2,000 votes in Colombo and being the last on the list in the April poll, the man was a sure winner making his way to be sworn in as a new MP last Wednesday.

Happily replacing wife Mary Lucida who resigned to send in her infamous and errant husband, soon after entry, Merv was making his presence felt, something even the Speaker took absolute note of.

When UPFA legislators locked horns with JHU monks over the disappearance of Ven. Kathaluwe Rathanaseeha Thero, alleging he was abducted by the JHU members themselves, Mervyn was there to screech and make his trade mark animalistic cry - a sound that is a cross between an animal in heat and a vehicle ominously coming to a screeching halt on a badly maintained road.

Monks need to watch it

The entry of monks to the legislature was expected not only to create political history, but also to make the House better behaved. But it seems that the monks themselves are submerged in so many controversies that before putting the House in order, they need to maintain their collective political front.

Last week saw the UPFA once more targeting the new bhikkus and calling them names which saw Ven. Kolonnawe Sri Sumangala Thero almost lose his cool. If the monks do not watch it, soon they will end up trading charges with fellow legislators - in true Sri Lankan style - something they really must be mindful of, having pledged to create a Dharmarajya.

Vilified in innocence

After the scandal involving SLMC Leader Rauf Hakeem, several opposition members were seen discussing in the parliament lobby their 'fear' of being vilified and victimised in a similar manner for their alleged fondness for the fair sex.

One MP from the Central Province was more perturbed than others as he confided in a few UNP colleagues that what would be worse than being vilified is to be vilified in innocence. "Before being declared a villainous womaniser, I wish to have as many as possible," said the perky novice MP, refusing to be defeated.

John and the state media

It is not everyone that appears to be shameless in the new government. With the UPFA's collective conduct, the use of language and the theatrical performances they seem to be capable of, there could be very little hope that the coming days would see them in a better mood or behaviour.

But one minister was filled with shame as he had a look at the Daily News' shameless spread on an alleged love story involving the SLMC leader and his mistress. "It is worse than a party propaganda paper," said the minister concerned in sheer disgust who appeared shocked that a man's private life, whether the facts are true or false, could be shamelessly splashed on page one thus. It seems the likes of John Seneviratne are definitely a vanishing breed within the UPFA that seems to thrive on sleaze and scandal and little else.

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