–

Cutting Down The Wrong Tree

Environment Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa organized a Peduru Party at his official residence to celebrate his 53rd birthday last Wednesday (18).
A group of VIPs including President Mahinda Rajapaksa attended the party.
Minister Susil Premajayantha had entertained the audience with the popular Sinhala song, “Chandrame Re Paya.”
During the party, the President had a chat with the birthday boy about the usual government affairs.
Seeing the head of several state institutions including the Timber Corporation, the President had told Yapa that he had directed that trees on some roads be cut down in order to develop a road in Mattala.
“It had not been done and I called the Chairman of the Timber Corporation. The man had got so scared that not only had he cut down the trees that were marked but also a sacred tree that was being worshiped by the people in the area,” Rajapaksa told Yapa.
Yapa also received some praise from the President when he had said the Central Environment Authority, which is under Yapa’s purview, had kept proper accounts of its finances.
“Most state institutions think of their accounts only when summoned by COPE, but the CEA has maintained its accounts well,” Rajapaksa has told a happy birthday boy.

–

It’s All In The Stars
UNP Chairman Gamini Jayawickrema Perera is to get the handling of astrological affairs added to his duties in relation to the party.
The Party’s Working Committee met last Monday (16) for the first time this year and Jayawickrema Perera was one of the first officials to enter Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office in Siri Kotha.
The Working Committee meeting was scheduled to commence at 10.30 a.m. However, Jayawickrema Perera has asked Wickremesinghe not to commence the Working Committee meeting at 10.30 a.m. He has said the auspicious time for the day was at 10.40 a.m. and that the meeting should therefore commence at that time.
Wickremesinghe had turned towards the UNP Secretary Tissa Attanayake and said in lighter vein to include astrological affairs in the list of duties that would be assigned to Jayawickrema Perera this year.
“Tissa, when listing out duties to officials, remember to include astrological affairs under Gamini,” the UNP leader had said.

-

Ravi’s Driver Fined On The Expressway

UNP Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake’s driver was fined for speeding on the Southern Expressway last week while driving the MP for a wedding in Galle.
The driver had been speeding on the expressway in order to get the parliamentarian to the wedding on time.
However, when Karunanayake’s vehicle reached the exit point in Galle, the officials at the point had handed the driver a document which was a speeding ticket imposing a fine of Rs. 1,000 for exceeding the speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour on the Southern Expressway.

–

Silence Please

Two governing UPFA members had to be ordered by the Colombo Fort Magistrate not to speak and create a noise in the court premises.
Colombo Fort Magistrate Kanishka Wijeratne has ordered UPFA CMC member Azad Sally and UPFA Western Provincial Councillor Ajmal Mowjood not to discuss and exchange words in the court premises.
The Magistrate had to make the statement when a case filed by Sally against Mowjood was taken up for hearing.
Sally has complained that Mowjood had failed to give him monies due from the sale of a vehicle valued at Rs. 2.3 million in 2005.

-
Basil And Nimal “LTTEers” Before Long
The  labelling of persons or groups acting against the government as “LTTEers” or “LTTE supporters” by the government still continues.
Operations Coordinator of the Movement for People’s Struggle, Duminda Nagamuwa said the government before long would end up calling SLFP seniors like Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva as LTTEers if they criticize any actions of the government.
Nagamuwa referring to accusations level by some government members against the Movement that it was being supported by the LTTE said that the government was still using the LTTE label even after the end of the war.
“The government claimed that the LTTE has been wiped out, but it still continues to use the LTTE label for its survival,” he added. He noted the government based its survival by showing a greater evil to the people.
Nagamuwa pointed out that no person who has spoken against the government has been spared from being labelled as an “LTTEer.”
“One of the these days senior ministers like Basil Rajapaksa and Nimal Siripala de Silva will also be called LTTEers if they point out any wrong doings of the government,” he said.

-

The Fall Guy
The government has found a fall guy for the whole mess up in A/Level results. This time it is the computer operator who has been chosen to take the blame.
The committee appointed by the President to probe the mess up in the A/Level results has stated that the mess  was due to the fault of the computer operator who had entered the data into the computer system.
The authorities have been under fire for the past few weeks over the mess up in the A/Level results and after blaming everything on a computer error, the fault has finally been laid on the computer operator.
Education sector trade unions however say that finding fault with the computer operator alone is not the solution to the issue.
However, the trade unions point out that the mess up was due to the delay in releasing the results and then finally releasing them following a  Presidential directive in a hurry without a proper mechanism.
“The government cannot shirk responsibility for the mess up,” the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) said.

–

Illegal Timber To Construct Courthouse
The Wild Life Department officials in Bakamuna in the Polonnaruwa District have confiscated stocks of timber from trees that had been cut down illegally.
The irony of the incident was that the illegal timber was being transported to be used for construction work of the courthouse in Bakamuna.
The Wild Life officials had carried out an inspection at the work site on a tip off and had found wood from Teak, Halmilla, Palu and Jack trees.
It is believed that most of the timber would have been taken from illegally cut trees in the Minneriya Forest Reserve.
The Wild Life officials have initiated an inquiry into the matter.

-

Namal In Court
First Son and UPFA parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa who took oaths  as a lawyer last month appeared in the Colombo District Court last week for a case.
The case was of UNP defector, parliamentarian Mohan Lal Grero, who  has filed a case before court challenging his expulsion from the UNP. Grero  defected to the government last month and was later appointed as the supervising parliamentarian of the Education Ministry.
Rajapaksa appeared along with Deputy Minister Faizer Mustapha for the case.
The court postponed Grero’s case till January 26th.

–

A Call From MR
President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week telephoned the UPFA MP and wife of the late Jeyaraj Fernandopulle,  Dr. Sudharshani Fernandopulle.
The  President made the call on the 11th when preparations were being made to commemorate Jeyaraj’s birth anniversary.
“Is it not Jeyaraj’s birthday today?” the President has asked. Dr. Fernandopulle  had asked how the President knew it.
Rajapaksa had responded by saying that it was Jeyaraj’s 59th birth anniversary and that he always remembers his friend’s birthday.
He had added that his friendship with Jeyaraj went to the days when they were both studying at Law College. The President has then asked what plans had been made to commemorate the anniversary.
Dr. Fernandopulle has said that religious  observances have been organized at various places including at the temple built by Jeyaraj.
Rajapaksa has inquired after the children and had ended the conversation saying he would leisurely pay a visit to the family.

–

Wedding Bells

UPFA Galle District parliamentarian  Ramesh Pathirana, who is the son of former Education Minster the late Richard Pathirana tied the knot last week at the Galle Face Hotel.
President  Mahinda Rajapaksa was one of the first guests to arrive at the wedding.
Interestingly, there had not been many government and opposition parliamentarians  at the venue, which is usually a common feature at many weddings of politicians and those related to them. Ramesh’s wedding had been void of much of the fanfare witnessed in VIP weddings.
Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody who is also a Ramesh’s relative had been  present at the wedding. Weerakkody had also organized the fireworks display that was put on show when the newly wedded couple prepared to leave the reception hall.

-
Budget Benefits
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had a good response to the claims by the opposition political parties about the benefits to the people in the 2012 budget.
He related a story about a farmer who had gone to the market to sell tamarind.
The President has said a farmer had taken a gunny bag full of tamarind to be sold to a trader. The trader had bargained and reduced the weight of the gunny bag, the tamarind seeds and the tamarind skin before giving the final weight.
According to the weight given by the trader, there had basically not been any tamarind left.
The farmer had asked the trader if the gunny bag had been empty without any tamarind at all.
“This is what I have to ask the opposition that says there’s nothing in the budget. Isn’t there any tamarind in the budget?” the President had asked with a smile.

–

Lesson From The UNP
The tussle between the JVP and its dissidents reached new heights last week due to the party’s move to hold a special convention in Hambantota today (1).
The JVP leadership planned to hold the convention with the aim of resolving the internal crisis and officially removing the dissident members from posts held by them in the party.
However, the holding of the convention was not divulged to the public until mid this month.
JVP dissidents claim that invitations to the convention have been sent to a new list of party members that was handed over to the Elections Commissioner by the party secretary recently.
The dissidents noted that they had not been informed about the convention.
“The JVP this time has planned a UNP style convention,” a dissident group member said.
The dissident members have discussed that the JVP seems to have learnt a lesson or two from the UNP and key among them is the manner in which they deal with the party’s internal matters.

–

Wimal’s Early Warning
NFF Leader and Minister Wimal Weerawansa had sent an early warning to the President and the government.
The growing agitation campaigns by students and parents against the country’s education system have become a cause for much concern to Weerawansa.
Given the continuous opposition raised by students and professionals to the introduction of the private universities to the country, the Minister had decided to send an early warning to the President on the matter.
Weerawansa had in writing last week informed the President that his party would have to act independently with regard to the proposed legislation on non state universities to be presented to parliament if the matter is not properly addressed.
He had called for a discussion to be held under the patronage of the President with all governing UPFA leaders to decide on the legislation.
Weerawansa in his usual style has warned that his party would not allow the country’s free education system to be destroyed.

–

Deadly Error
The state owned TV station Rupavahini last week made a massive blunder when it reported that popular Sinhala singer, Sisira Senaratne had passed away.
Soon after the news was telecast fans and friends of the Senaratne family had started calling to express their condolences.
All those who had called Senaratne’s family were taken back  when they were informed that the artiste was very much alive. The family had informed that there was no truth to the story telecast on state television.
A journalist who had called Senaratne’s son had been informed that he was in the car with his mother and father and there was nothing wrong with his father.
People had then started to call all the general numbers of Rupavahini to inquire about the basis for the story. Some had even turned abusive towards the persons who had answered the telephones at the Rupavahini Corporation.
The state TV channel had to immediately run a correction on the news bulletin after hearing many comments about the inaccuracy of the stories.

–

VIP Mess
The main opposition UNP last week claimed that the mess up in the A/Level results released by the Examinations Department was due to the pressure by certain VIPs.
UNP MP Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said the mess up was due to the Department’s urgency to release the results in order to enable children of several VIPs to apply  to universities overseas.
He observed that the results of the local A/Level exam were needed for the VIP children to apply to foreign universities before the deadline. “The government has pushed for the release of the results to benefit the VIP kids and the Department messed things trying to meet the deadline of these VIPs,” Kariyawasam said.

–

A Corporation For Vegetables
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had to recently intervene to resolve a crisis over the laws on packing fruits and vegetables for transportation.
The President had to meet with the farmers and traders to resolve the issue. During the meeting the President managed to suspend the law for a period of one month.
However, while discussing issues related to the agriculture sector, representatives from the farmers’ associations had complained about issues faced by them due to actions of the traders’ associations.
The farmers had said the traders took a 10 percent commission on the vegetables sold and also cheated when weighing the goods.
After listening intently for a while, the President had said that he was unable to resolve all the issues faced by the farmers.
Finally he had said, “Please do not do these things. If so, I will have to start a Corporation for vegetables like the Fisheries Corporation and put in place a state mechanism to sell vegetables as well.”

–

UNP Lawyers Misled
The UNP lawyers were recently misled by information received that parliamentarian Buddhika Pathirana had filed legal action against the party.
Information received by the party headquarters, Siri Kotha, had been that Pathirana was planning on filing legal action against the party.
After hearing about the matter, lawyers representing the party had immediately visited the court complex in Hulfsdorp.
Pathirana, had, however not turned up in courts that day although the lawyers had stood at the courthouse for hours.
In fact Pathirana had attended Parliament sessions that day and had been going about his normal routine unaware of this matter.
He had then informed that he had no intention of taking legal action against the party.
However, it had later been found out that the UNP lawyers had been misled by a rumour.
The conflict between the party leadership and Pathirana has now been resolved with the intervention of Party Secretary Tissa Attanayake.

–

“We Will Protect Ranil”
Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne last week said the government would protect UNP Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe and the party head quarters, Sirikotha.
Responding to a statement made by Wickremasinghe that his life was under threat, Jayaratne told Parliament that the government would protect him and Siri Kotha.
The Premier said that the government would provide security and that the government if required could also help renovate the damaged party head quarters and provide monies to treat the wounded.
“We will protect Ranil Wickremasinghe and the party headquarters,” Jayaratne said.

–

Only The Chairman Votes
The 2012 budgets of local government bodies headed by the governing UPFA continue to be defeated.
The governing party members continue to violate directives issued by the UPFA leadership that they should not violate party decisions.
However, the governing UPFA members were rather surprised to hear of the defeat of the budget presented in the Sooriyawewa Pradeshiya Sabha in the Hambantota District.
Only the Chairman of the Pradeshiya Sabha had voted in favour of the budget.
Out of the four UPFA members, three had voted against the budget with the UNP councilor.
When the vote was taken on the budget, it revealed that four members had voted against the budget while one member had voted in favour of it.
Meanwhile, the 2012 budget presented to the UPFA led Embilipitiya Urban Council had also been defeated last week.
Three councilors had voted in favour of the budget while four members had opposed it. Among those who had opposed the budget is the UPFA member and Deputy Chairman of the Council.

–

Nothing To Worry
The stir caused by Opposition and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s move to remove his tie inside the parliament Chamber as a mark of protest continues.
Recently, UNP MP Thalatha Atukorale was engaged in a friendly chat with UPFA MPs Malini Fonseka and Dr. Sudharshani Fernandopulle in the parliament lobby when Wickremesinghe had walked passed them.
Seeing Wickremesinghe, Fonseka had joked saying that he has already removed his tie and don’t know which part of his attire would come off next.
Atukorale’s witty reply was, “Don’t worry about that. Regardless of what happens, we are safe.”
Everyone has had a good laugh before joining the official sessions in the House.

–

Wanted, Officers Who Say “Yes”

Senior Minister for International Monetary Affairs, Dr. Sarath Amunugama says the country needed a public sector consisting officers who say “Yes.”
He said the current attitude of “No” and “Can’t” among the public servants need to change along with the country’s path towards development.
According to Dr. Amunugama, most foreign investors are deterred by the negative attitudes of some public servants in the country.
Speaking in a true professional manner, he added that an explanation should be called from any public official who says any particular work could not be done.
However, realising that his comments may not go down that well among a majority of the public officials, Dr. Amunugama said with a smile, “I don’t know if it would be implemented, but this is my personal feeling.

–

All Set, But No Electricity
Ministers these days are faced with a predicament when invited to open projects implemented in rural areas.
Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe recently opened a water project in Dodangoda where the water did not flow from the taps during the ceremony.
Minister Jagath Pushpakumara was recently faced with a similar situation.
Pushpakumara was invited to open a rural electrification programme in Kataragama when it was revealed that the CEB had not provided the power supply to the project.
In fact, the project was limited to several electricity poles and wires without electricity being provided to the houses in the respective village.
Although wires had been drawn to the houses, there was no electricity running through it.
An angry Minister Pushpakumara addressing the villagers charged that it was an act of sabotage by some officials at the CEB to place the government in difficulty.
He even went to the extent of claiming that it was a conspiracy by someone at the Power and Energy Minister.

-
Ranil Becomes A State Invitee
Opposition and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has now become a state invitee handing out gifts at state events, which is a feat that was not granted to previous opposition leaders.
Wickremesinghe recently graced the National Youth Awards Ceremony organised by the Youth Affairs Ministry at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Homagama.
The Opposition Leader was invited to hand over the prizes for the best sportsman and woman for the year.
Seeing the UNP Leader, a minister who also graced the occasion has told a few government members in lighter vein that Wickremesinghe was now playing an active role in the government.

–

Father And Son
It was a proud moment for President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week when eldest son, parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa took oaths as a lawyer.
Interestingly, the tie worn by Namal when taking oaths had been the same one worn by his father when he took oaths as a lawyer in 1972.
The President, First Lady, Basil and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and several Ministers were present in the Supreme Court complex when Namal took oaths.

The ministers’ team is tipped to be led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa while the parliamentarians’ team is to be led by his son, Namal Rajapaksa.

The match is scheduled to be played at the Sports Ministry grounds in Torrington and is named the Speaker’s Trophy.

Namal Rajapaksa (Picture Courtesy: Hindu.com)

The young and the not so young have been following a fitness routine for the past few weeks and practising to put up a good show before the President. It has been a difficult task to contact ministers and deputy ministers in the mornings since they have been busy practising the game.
However, the ministers’ team is a little unhappy that two former Sri Lanka cricket captains Arjuna Ranatunga and Sanath Jayasuriya could play for the MPs’ team under Namal.
The match is to be given live coverage by the Carlton Sports Network (CSN).

–

Bad Luck Continues
The defection of UNP MP Mohan Lal Grero to the government had made one deputy minister of the government become the subject of  jokes among his colleagues.
Soon after Grero’s defection, there were rumours that the President was likely to appoint him as the Deputy Education Minster.
When several colleagues humoured Deputy Education Minister Vijith Wijithamuni Soyza that he was soon going to lose his position, he has said that once he lost the chief ministerial post and now it’s going to be the deputy ministerial post.
Everybody had laughed at the joke, but was relieved to hear that the President had appointed Grero only as a supervising MP for education.
Soyza was requested not to contest at the last Uva Provincial Council in order to make way for Shasheendra Rajapaksa to contest as the UPFA Chief Ministerial candidate for the elections.
Rajapaksa won the election and was appointed Chief Minister while Soyza was given nominations to contest at the last general elections.

–

Tap Runs Dry At Opening

Mahinda Samarasinghe (Picture Courtesy: www.koreatimes.co.kr)

Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe faced an embarrassing situation recently when the water did not run through the taps at the opening of the Hermanwatte Dodangoda water project.
The water project was completed with the aim of addressing the problem of drinking water that has affected the people in the area for about eight years.
The water project was finally completed at a cost of Rs. 260 lakhs.
However, when the Minister opened one of the taps as a symbolic gesture of inaugurating the new water supply system, water had not run through the tap.
Samarasinghe had made the fund allocation for the water project following requests made by people in the area.
The Minister had finally told the crowd that they should not be deterred and continue to support the electoral organiser and him.

–

Waiting In The Rain

Youth Affairs Minister Dullas Alahapperuma (Picture Courtesy: en.wikipedia.com)

The opening of the Southern Expressway recently was quite a wet day for some of members in government.
Youth Affairs Minister Dullas Alahapperuma was one of the government members to have got wet in the rains experienced in the South that day.
Waiting for the President to arrive in Devata, which is the entry point to the Southern Expressway from Galle, were several hundreds of school students standing with balloons to greet the head of state. Accompanying them was Minister Alahapperuma.
However, due to the sudden shower, Alahapperuma had to stand in the rain with the children for several minutes until the President arrived at the venue.
Meanwhile, the President had also experienced some difficulty in travelling to the expressway opening due to the rains.
The First Family was to arrive for the opening from Meda Mulana. Due to the heavy rains, the First Family had to stay in their vehicles for a few minutes after the helicopter transported them from Tangalle to the Koggala Army Camp.

–

Female Legislator Overlooked

UPFA MP Dr. Sudharshani Fernandopulle (Picture Courtesy: www.flickr.com

It was irony that took centre stage at an event organised by a women’s group to launch a report on how to increase female representation in local politics.
The event was organised at a five star hotel in Colombo by a women’s NGO with the assistance of the Norwegian embassy in Sri Lanka to publicise the report on the findings of a survey carried out on how to encourage women in the North and East to enter politics.
Ironically, the organisers had failed to allocate a seat for a female legislator to grace the occasion.
UPFA MP Dr. Sudharshani Fernandopulle had walked in to find that a seat had not been allocated to her although two seats had been designated to female opposition MPs.
She had immediately called the organisers and had expressed her disgust at the manner in which a women’s organisation had failed to recognise a female in politics.
Dr. Fernandopulle had said that there were only 13 female legislators in the country and it was sad to see women’s organisations aimed at promoting female representation overlooking women who are already in politics.
Dr. Fernandopulle had raised her objections and walked out of the ceremony.

—-

Taking MR’s Advice

The UNP last week organized a protest rally in Colombo after a long spell of silence.
The UNPers called for Sarath Fonseka’s release and to safeguard the Sinhala business community. Opposition and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe led the protest rally that commenced from Hyde Park.
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa hailed the UNP’s protest rally saying the opposition has finally taken the advice given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the 2012 budget speech in parliament.
The President said the country needed a strong opposition to help the government. He said the opposition played a vital role in a country as much as a government. According to Basil Rajapaksa, the President’s words have awakened the opposition that was in a slumber.
Meanwhile, at the rally Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa was not allocated a seat and was not included in the list of speakers that day.
When Premadasa arrived, the organizers got some security personnel to bring a chair for him.
However, the organizers of the protest were faced with a predicament when the people shouted and asked for a speech by Premadasa when Dr. Wickremabahu Karunaratne mentioned Wickremasinghe’s name at the beginning of his speech. A section of the crowd continued to cheer Premadasa and the organizers therefore had to prevent Dr. Karunaratne’s speech from being publicized in the media.

–
A No Show

A no show by two leading leaders at an event organized in the Gampaha District last week resulted in  fisticuffs with the organizers being assaulted by the persons who attended the ceremony.
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa were said to have been invited as the chief guests at a prize giving ceremony organized by the Diriya Daruwo Children’s Foundation at Henarathgoda in Gampaha. After Kumaratunge and Rajapaksa failed to attend the ceremony even hours after its commencement, the disgruntled people had attacked the organizers and had even taken away some of the prizes.
The two leading ladies had not attended the event until it had concluded.
Following complaints by the police, seven organizers had been arrested and four were released on bail.

–

Politicos On The Highway
The Southern Expressway has now become a popular traveling path to the South even among politicos.
While some governing party politicians, namely Housing and Construction Minister Wimal Weerawansa has criticized the Southern Expressway, some others have opted to test the road for themselves.
Soon after the opening of the expressway, Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka used the highway to reach Galle on an inspection tour following the damages caused by the strong winds experienced by the South last week.
Along the way, a sight that had captured the attention of the Minister was the large number of dead dogs lying by the side of the highway after being run over by speeding vehicles. Two JVPers, Wasantha Samarasinghe and K. D. Lalkantha also used the expressway to reach Galle for a seminar on the 29th.
After reaching Galle, Lalkantha told the gathering that he had used the expressway, and that the country should have received such a highway several decades ago.

–

No Invitation
The JVP decided not to attend the protest rally organized by the UNP.
The UNP a few weeks earlier claimed that the JVP had been extended an invitation to participate in the rally.
However, even on the day before the rally, the JVP leaders had not received any invitation from the UNP. The party leaders however, were pleased that an invitation had not been received since they would have had to turn it down.
“The JVP has held many anti- government protests and is currently in the process of holding a series of islandwide protest campaigns,” a JVP senior said.
Meanwhile, Sarath Fonskea’ wife Anoma Fonseka who had originally accepted the UNP invitation to attend the rally later informed the party that she would not be participating in it.

–

The Generation Gap
Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa doing an inspection round in the parliament recently had come across a painting he found intriguing on the ground floor.
Rajapaksa had stopped for a while to admire the painting when UNP Matara District parliamentarian Buddhika Pathirana approached the Speaker.
Pathirana also looked at the painting the Speaker was looking at in a pensive manner. Rajapaksa had then turned and asked Pathirana what he thought about the painting.
Pathirana had quipped that his thoughts were the same as the Speaker’s. Rajapaksa had asked with a smile how Pathirana could have the same feelings given the considerable age gap between the two.
Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody had also joined the group and when informed of the conversation, had laughed saying Pathirana is unable to think clearly since his mind was otherwise occupied.

–

Another Failure

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has recorded yet another failure in attempting to get Minister Wimal Weerawansa and Kaduwela Mayor G. H. Buddhadasa to bury the hatchet.
Weerawansa and Buddhadasa have been at loggerheads since the last local government elections where they even went public making critical remarks against each other.
The conflict resulted in a split between UPFA members in Kaduwela. Buddhadasa however emerged victorious at the elections.
The President since then has made several attempts to get the two politicians to forgive and forget.
Rajapaksa a few weeks back during a tree planting ceremony organised by the Environment Ministry made the latest attempt.
Seeing Weerawansa and Buddhadasa maintaining a safe distance between each other, the President had called Buddhadasa to his side.
After exchanging pleasantries with him, the President had asked Buddhadasa to speak to Weerawansa who was also standing next to the President.
Buddhadasa had rejected the President’s request saying that he  would have nothing to do with the likes of Weerawansa.
After hearing Buddhadasa’s response, Weerawansa had made his way out of the ceremony after telling the President that he would see him later in the day during another state event.

-

An Angry President To Crack The Whip

President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to get tough with governing party local government members who had voted against the budgets presented in several bodies by the UPFA.
Rajapaksa is angry that some UPFA councillors had failed to tow the party line even after party Secretary, Minister Susil Premajayantha had sent warning letters to them.
Premajayantha sent warning letters to the errant councillors and the heads of the LG bodies headed by the UPFA saying all members should follow the party stance and not violate the party Constitution.
The Secretary vowed strict action against the local government members who violate the party’s code of ethics.
However, a few days after the letters were sent to the local government members, the UPFA’s budget presented to the Dodangoda Pradeshiya Sabha was defeated for the second consecutive time.
An angry President had inquired as to why the UPFA budget was defeated in Dodangoda for the second time.
The UPFA is to now begin disciplinary action against the “errant” members.
Several government ministers however have said that while the UPFA budgets are being defeated in the local government bodies, the national budget presented by the President has also drawn flak from political parties to civil society organisations and the public.

–

Basil Under Fire

The unemployed graduates are an angry bunch due to the government’s failure to grant them employment as promised.
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa had earlier this year promised thousands of employment opportunities to the unemployed graduates. However, the 2012 budget proposals have failed to make the required allocations for the purpose.
The Combined Associations of Unemployed Graduates charge that they had been promised 14,500 jobs under Basil’s Jana Sabha programme and 30,000 jobs as development officers.
Although the President in the budget commended Basil’s Divi Neguma programme, thousands of unemployed graduates have waged war against him.

The President had made several official telephone calls to ministers on the 15th morning, but none of them had answered their phones.
Some ministers have not answered their telephones while some others have asked other officials to respond to the President’s calls.

Mahinda Rajapaksa

Finally, the President had inquired from his officials as to why the ministers were not answering his telephone calls. He had then been informed that most of the government ministers were scared of the transit of the planet Saturn on the 15th and expected bad incidents to take place that day.
Therefore, the ministers had been purposely avoiding him in fear of getting scolded at the time of Saturn’s transit.
The President had then laughed it off and participated in a tree planting ceremony organised by the Environment Ministry.

–

Wimal’s Behaviour Upsets Govt. Seniors

Wimal Weerawansa

National Freedom Front(NFF) Leader and Housing and Construction Minister Wimal Weerawansa is now playing truant within the government.

Weerawansa’s latest antics have somehow irked President Mahinda Rajapaksa who has asked several senior government members to keep a close watch on him.
Feeling sidelined due to the rejection of several Cabinet papers presented by him Weerawansa has not attended several Cabinet meetings in the last month.
However, it was Weerawansa’s decision to boycott the vote on the legislation on under performing and under utilised assets that has made senior government members including the President realise that all was not well.
The criticism levelled against the legislation presented by the government by the NFF and the Jathika Hela Urumaya(JHU) and the decision to abstain from voting for the bill in parliament caused a huge stir within the government ranks.
NFF sources say that the President has expressed his displeasure at Weerawansa’s actions.
Weerawansa on the other hand is now trying to build an image for himself while being part of the government in order to further his political career. After learning of the President’s displeasure over his actions, he has decided to remain silent for a while.

–

RW Supported Govt.’s Commonwealth Bid
Opposition and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has once again supported the government and this time for the much debated bid pushed by the government to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The irony is that Wickremesinghe had supported the Games that were being criticised by a majority of his party legislators and members as an endeavour that would cripple the country’s economy.
Central Bank Governor and Co-chairman of the 2018 Commonwealth Games Bid Committee, Ajith Nivard Cabraal took the liberty of even including Wickremesinghe’s letter to the Commonwealth Games Committee extending his support to host the games in Sri Lanka in a slide show that was shown to the media last week.
Cabraal told the media of the government’s attempt to win the 2018 Commonwealth Games for Sri Lanka and said even the opposition had supported the cause.
Wickremesinghe in his letter had stated that the main opposition UNP would continue with the Commonwealth Games if Sri Lanka won the bid and if it were to be held under a UNP government.

–

JVP To Commence Agitation Campaigns

The JVP politburo that met last Wednesday (16) has decided to organizs islandwide protest campaigns through both the trade union and youth wings against the government’s move to sell state resources to foreign investors for cheap and the failure to address concerns over the rising cost of living.
The JVP leaders have said the government would not be able to grant any relief to the public even in the 2012 budget since the increase in fuel prices has had a cascading effect on the economy.
The party has decided to take the lead in the protest campaigns before the other opposition parties.

–

Moves To Prop-Up Namal

Namal Rajapaksa

The Youth Wing of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is to undergo some major changes, much to the displeasure of senior SLFP members.

SLFP seniors say that the move to re-organise the youth wing is an attempt by the President to build an organisation that would help the political career of parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa.
The Vice President of the SLFP Youth Wing, Deputy Minister Duminda Dissanayake is to be replaced by a member represented in parliament and closely associated to young Rajapaksa.
The post of the vice president in organisations affiliated to the SLFP play a key role since the holder of the post is the de facto leader of the organisation. The head of the SLFP, in this case, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is the President of all SLFP affiliated organisations.
Due to the important role played by the vice presidents of the organisations, they are also given a slot in the SLFP Central Committee.
The vice president of the youth wing is therefore a member of the party’s Central Committee.
With Dissanayake’s removal, he would lose his position in the party’s Central Committee as well.
However, the Deputy Minister has maintained that he has requested to resign from the post in order to make way for another young party member to take over.
Senior SLFP members maintain that the Rajapaksas were trying to gain control of the Central Committee by strategically replacing traditional SLFP members with defectors from the opposition and those affiliated to the party leadership.
Nevertheless, members of the SLFP youth wing observe that the party needed to play attention to the organisation since more focus is being paid to Namal Rajapaksa’s Tharunyata Hetak.
“The SLFP youth wing has become inactive due to the promotion of Tharunyata Hetak and it has become the unofficial youth wing of the SLFP,” a SLFP youth wing member said.

-

SLFP CC To Get Tough With LG Members

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee (CC) that met last week decided to get tough with the governing party members in the local government bodies.
The CC had discussed at length about the actions of the governing party Local Government(LG) members who did not follow party orders and acted in violation of the party principles. Focus had been on the defeat of the governing UPFA’s first budget after the formation of the Dodangoda Pradeshiya Sabha a few days earlier.
The budget of the Dodangoda Pradeshiya Sabha received six votes in favour and seven votes against it. Two members of the UPFA voted against the budget together with four members of the UNP and an independent councilor.
In another instance, governing party members of the Embilipitiya Urban Council boycotted the first two sessions of the Council until the UPFA leaders intervened and warned the members of strict disciplinary action.
The President has asked that warning letters to be sent to the UPFA members who had voted against the budget in the Dodangoda Pradeshiya Sabha.
The CC has also decided to organise a workshop for the newly elected governing party local government members to educate them on the party discipline, the Constitution an action that would be taken if they violate party directives.

The movement named “Pivithuru Hetak” was launched last week with JHU’s Ven. Athuraliye Ratana Thero playing a key role in the movement.

Bharatha Lakshman, Duminda Silva, Ratana Thero and Mahinda Rajapaksa

The decision to commence the Pivithuru Hetak movement was made following the Mulleriyawa shooting incident on October 8 that resulted in the death of five persons including Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and injured parliamentarian Duminda Silva.
The JHU condemned the incident saying that politics based on thuggery was taking the country backwards.
The JHU also emphasized the need for the government to take steps to amend the current electoral system and to abolish the preferential voting system. The party said the government has been given a mandate by the people to address the issues that prevented the country from moving forward.
Ven. Ratana Thero observed that the newly launched movement would campaign for an end to political thuggery and work towards preventing more black marks like the Mulleriyawa incident from taking place.
The move by the JHU however has irked some senior members of the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration since a coalition partner was making critical statements on the government.
The JHU meanwhile maintains that the party although a member of the government would also work according to its policies.
——–
Basil Holds Meeting With SLFPers In Kolonnawa

Basil Rajapaksa

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa who was appointed as the SLFP organiser for Kolonnawa following the Mulleriyawa shooting incident recently summoned a meeting of the SLFP development committee in the Kolonnawa electorate.

The meeting saw supporters of the slain Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and injured parliamentarian Duminda Silva.
The chairman of the Kotikawatte-Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha, Prasanna Solangarachchi, who was in the center of the Mulleriyawa shooting, was also present at the meeting.
Rajapaksa addressing the meeting had said that all members of the SLFP in Kolonnawa should unite and keep in mind that they were all members of one party.
He had observed that the development projects launched in the Kolonnawa electorate that had come to a standstill should recommence.
Rajapaksa had asked the SLFP organizers to monitor the progress of the development projects and to bring them for discussion at the next development meeting.

-

Wimal Weerawansa

Wimal Steps Out

NFF Leader and Minister Wimal Weerawansa has decided to break his silence on his days as an active member of the JVP.
Following the internal crisis that has now led to a split in the JVP, Weerawansa has decided to capitalize on the issue by commencing a series of seminars.
Titled, The mess in the Left that is unknown by the Left, Weerawansa is to speak of the issues faced by the current Left movement in the country, especially the JVP.
His seminar is scheduled to be held on Monday (7) evening at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI).
Previously, Weerawansa wrote an article about his experience with the elusive leader of the JVP now the head of the dissidents, Premakumar Gunartham alias Kumar, which led eventually led to his defection from the party.
-

Dayasiri Jayasekara and Ranil Wickremesinghe

Ranil Hampers Opposition Movement Against Lawlessness
The opposition political parties have all made critical comments about the current political conditions in the country and have been contemplating the need to set up movements against the existing system.
Several members of the UNP also felt the need to form a group consisting of political parties, trade unionists, intellectuals and professionals to campaign against the lawlessness of the country.
UNP parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekera, Western Provincial Councilor Shiral Lakthileka, UNP Horana organizer Ravi Jayawardena and representatives of the Trade Union Federation and Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) joined together to form a new opposition movement to fight against the ills of the current administration.
Jayawardena was appointed as the convener and Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero was decided to be the head of the movement.
Once initiated, the movement was expected to be expanded by including other members of opposition parties and movements to it. Members of the movement had met last week to decide on when to launch it.
However, hearing about the formation of the new opposition movement, Opposition and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had summoned Jayawardena to his office.
Wickremesinghe had asked about the movement and asked Jayawardena if he wanted to continue in politics or to work with civil society organizations. The UNP leadership has asked Jayawardena, who is a Wickremesinghe loyalist, to decide between the two. The leadership had also said that since he was working closely with the civil society there was no necessity for Jayawardena to work with the civil society.
Following Wickremesinghe’s sta-tement, Jayawardena is now facing a dilemma and the formation of the movement has come to a standstill. Jayawardena is now silent and has refused to comment on his decision.
A disgruntled UNPer quipped that Wickremesinghe sees to expect all other party members to adopt his stance on the government.

-

•   Dissident’s Opatha Makes First Public Appearance

The Tussle For Power Continues In JVP
The battle to gain control in the JVP seems far from over with the dissident members working with a never say die attitude.

The past week was a significant one for the dissidents with one of their leader’s Senadheera Gunathileka alias Opatha making his first public appearance at a seminar in Galle.
Opatha delivered the lecture on the policies of JVP founder Rohana Wijeweera and those who still adhere to them.
The dissidents decided to make Opatha make his first public appearance in Galle due to the power wielded by the dissident group members in the district. Several members of the dissident group have on different times headed the party’s district committees.
A majority of the party’s official membership was supportive of the dissident and group and therefore they decided that Galle would be the best place for Opatha’s debut.
The day before Opatha made his debut in Galle, the JVP held an official seminar on the party’s policies and the future course of action attended by parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The seminar attended by Dissanayake was well attended and the focus next shifted to the seminar organized by the dissidents the following day.
Although the dissident group’s seminar was also attended considerably well, the participation was not too satisfactory given the power wielded by them in the district.
It is now being reported that the elusive leader of the dissidents, Premakumar Gunaratnam alias Kumar is to make his first public appearance at the November Heroes commemoration on November 13 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium.
Both the JVP and the dissidents are now focused on organizing the November Heroes event with the aim of making it a show of strength.
Meanwhile, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva last week also handed over a new list of party seniors to the Elections Commissioner’s Department that had excluded the names of the dissident group members.