President Ranil Wickremesinghe played a novel game in the political arena last weekend. He went to Galle on Saturday morning and joined the Galle District UNP Convention organised by MP Wajira Abeywardena and on the same day evening he joined an event organised by SLPP Parliamentarian MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena.
UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene and Deputy Leader Akila Viraj Kariyawasam attended the UNP Galle meeting and SLPP Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, party founder Basil Rajapaksa, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa and many party members attended Rohitha’s ceremony.
“I was at the Galle UNP meeting this morning and I am at the Pohottuwa meeting in the evening. I was with the SJB group last night.” When President Wickremesinghe said this, there was a warm response from the audience. Mahinda, Basil, Gotabaya and Namal engaged in friendly conversation with the President, but they were trying to avoid talking about the election.
Political meetings at Paget Road
Last Sunday morning several political meetings were held at the President’s Paget road residence and in the evening he attended the funeral of veteran politician R.Sampanthan.
The President met the political cabinet on Monday morning. In the evening, the President went to Ratnapura to participate in the Amarapura Day celebrations of the Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Nikaya.
That evening, the President returned to the Presidential Secretariat to discuss with the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance about the strike by public servants demanding an increase in their salaries. President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake and President’s Economic Adviser Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga also attended the discussion.
Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena said that the VAT should be increased to 21 percent to pay the salary demanded by the public servants. He said that at present the printing of money has been suspended by the Act itself and it is impossible to increase the 18 percent VAT and the people cannot bear it.
Accordingly, the President decided that the salaries cannot be increased at this point of time. The President went to the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday morning and returned to Parliament. He went to the Government parliamentary group meeting there and then went to the Cabinet meeting.
When President Wickremesinghe went to his Parliament office to join the Cabinet meeting, he met a group of school students in the corridor who had come to see the Parliament. The President posed for photographs with them and asked, “Who will be coming to Parliament among you?” Then almost 15 students in the Student Parliament raised their hands.
Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said, “Now even the children have understood that you are ruling the country well. Children have a good understanding of this,” he said.
Prof. Ashu Marasinghe also joined the conversation and spoke about the educational changes initiated by the President and adding Artificial Intelligence to the school curriculum.
“The JVP is trying to rebel against the Government and create a disaster like in 88/89. A plan is being implemented to embarrass the Government and capture power,” the Ministers said in unison. They said that they are planning to bring employees of more institutions to the streets in the near future and the transport sector is also a part of it.
After the talks, President Wickremesinghe presented his proposal to the Cabinet. It included giving a salary increment to public servants who did not join the strike and to issue a special certificate of appreciation in recognition of their service. Apart from that, the President also presented the Cabinet paper to make the term of office of the President as five years as the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution and get it passed.
When the President came out after the Cabinet meeting, the MPs appreciated the proposal and asked what would happen with the issuance of letters of appreciation.
MP Wajira Abeywardana said, “When the letter of appreciation goes into the employee’s file, it affects promotions. The promotions of these people will be faster than those who did not report to work.”
When Wajira said, this the members who heard it said that it was excellent work.
“Those trade union leaders do not remember who this President is. The trade union leaders are now saying that when the decisions were taken by then President J.R. Jayewardene regarding the July 1980 strike, President Wickremesinghe was also in that Cabinet. We also need to remember that,” Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said.
When the President took the elevator to go to the upper floor of the Parliament after the Cabinet meeting, he saw SJB MP Ajith Mannapperuma with a group of his supporters near the elevator.
When they saw the President, they came to the President and posed for photographs. The people there started to say, “Sir, you are our leader.”
“Now we all have to come together to build the country,” the President said. When the President said that, everyone approved it and then Ashu said “Now the saloon door has been opened.”
Adara Anthaya
Recently, President Wickremesinghe and First Lady Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe went to the One Galle Face Mall to watch a movie at the PVR Cinema. Minister Bandula Gunawardena as well as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Foundation Saman Athaudahetti joined them to watch the movie Adara Anthaya produced by his brother. A special show of the film to be released soon directed by Asoka Athaudahetti was screened and President Wickremesinghe spoke with the invitees and mingled freely with them to watch the film.
Film distributors, theatre owners, importers, producers and representatives of film companies representing the cinema industry and the President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake were among the guests.
Before watching the film, they had a brief exchange of ideas about two new institutions to be set up to develop Sri Lankan cinema. When they inquired about these two institutions, the Film Sri Lanka Institute to replace the Film Corporation and the Public Performances Classification Board to replace the Public Performance Board, all the doubts they had were dispelled by the answers given by the President.
One of the guests who was present asked the President how he could spare time to watch movies amidst the thousands of official duties.
“Watching movies has been my hobby since my childhood. Even so, after watching Prasanna’s Gaadi, until now it was not possible to come to a theatre and watch a movie,” the President gave a light answer and left.
The Sustainable Development Plan drawn up by the Chamber of Commerce was presented to the President on Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday was another special day as two years had elapsed since the destruction of President Wickremesinghe’s house and its valuable library. Minister Prasanna Ranatunga whose house was burnt down, had organised a program to give freehold deeds to the flat owners on that day to commemorate it. President Wickremesinghe also delivered a sensitive speech there.
Cinnamon development
The President went to Galle on Wednesday morning to set up a Cinnamon Development Department. After that, the President went to the Ministry of Finance and discussed the economic situation of the country.
On Thursday morning, while returning to the office after opening the Kompanya Veediya flyover, many Ministers had come to meet the President to discuss the current political situation in the country.
There was talk about the wave of strikes and the inconvenience to train commuters. “Were the officers who reported for work during the 80 strike given incentives like this?” Director General of Government Information Dinith Chinthaka asked.
“Because this letter was given, those who didn’t report for work will become juniors and those who have returned to work will become seniors,” Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said recalling the ignorance of trade union leaders.
“Privatise the railways”
“People are against this strike. They blame the Government for not taking tough decisions. Others say to privatise the Railways,” MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage said.
“The Opposition has no plan. They are trying to go for elections by creating a wave of strikes and protesting against the Government. These are not practical. People do not agree to strikes and they want to do their work freely. That is why tough decisions have to be taken against the strikers,” President Wickremesinghe said seriously.
Chaminda Lenawa, who claimed to be an entrepreneur, submitted a petition to the Supreme Court seeking an interpretation on the end date of the President’s term and also requested to issue an order to prevent the Election Commission from holding the presidential election until the Supreme Court interpretation is given.
It was alleged that President Ranil Wickremesinghe was behind this petition because of UNP General Secretary Range Bandara’s statement about the postponement of the election. Some people thought that this fundamental rights petition was another trick by the President. UNP General Secretary Range Bandara also made a big effort to show that Chaminda Lenawa is a member of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
MP Nalin Bandara, who commented on that said, “The UNP attempts to show that the person called Lenawa is connected to the SJB. UNP General Secretary Range Bandara has said that the person called Lenawa was in the National List of a party called the Development Front in the 2020 parliamentary elections. The UNP says the party called the Development Front is the party of Rohan Pallewatta. Palitha Range Bandara is trying to say that as Rohan Pallewatta is in the SJB, it was the SJB that filed the fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court to postpone the Presidential Election. Rohan Pallewatta is a 2019 Presidential Candidate. He joined the SJB after the 2020 parliamentary elections. It is not possible to create a connection that Lenawa who was in the SJB National List in the 2020 parliamentary election or Rohan Pallewatta was in the SJB. Rohan Pallewatta joined the SJB alone.”
Discourse in society
Former MP Ajith P. Perera said, “Chaminda Lenawa has filed this Fundamental Rights petition before the Supreme Court not to gain victory in the Supreme Court but to create some discourse in society. No lawyer was involved in filing this Fundamental Rights petition before the Supreme Court.
“A lawyer doesn’t get even 30 seconds to argue this matter before the Supreme Court. Therefore, this person has filed this Fundamental Rights petition before the Supreme Court regarding the tenure of the President according to the rights of a citizen.
“By filing this Fundamental Rights Petition, they hope to create a discourse in the country on the office of the President. That discourse has been created in the country now,” he said.
But last week, the five-judge bench unanimously decided not to hear the petition. The decision was a victory for democracy as well as a victory for the voters.
Current Chairman of the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) Rajiv Sooriyarachchi had made a statement that the Government has incurred a loss of over Rs. 5,564 million due to the provision of housing loans by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa informally during his tenure as the Housing Minister.
Former Chairman of the NHDA Lakvijaya Sagara Palansooriya said, “Five years after the previous Government left, the current Chairman says that there was a loss of Rs. 5,564 million from the loans given by Sajith Premadasa when he was the Minister of Housing.
“An audit of an institution takes place within a year or two. If so, the result of a state audit about the loss of Rs. 5,564 million should have been done in 2022 or 2023. The question arises on what basis it is said that a loss of Rs. 5,564 million had occurred on the loans given by Sajith Premadasa when he was the Minister of Housing at a certain point, when an election is scheduled to be held after five years.
“NHDA Chairman Rajiv Sooriyaarachchi said this with no records based on it. The NHDA Chairman has said that 53,709 of the housing beneficiaries are ineligible for it. A question arises as to how it was decided that housing beneficiaries were ineligible. There should be criteria to declare that some are ineligible to obtain those houses.
“The selection of the housing beneficiaries is done by the officers of the NHDA. The selection is made under the criteria. Accordingly, you don’t get the ability to remove them as ineligible,’’ he said.
The number of people joining the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and the Samagi Jana Sandanaya is increasing day by day. A group of prominent people engaged in politics expressed their support for the SJB led by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. Nidahasa Janatha Sabawa led by MP Dullas Alahapperuma, SLPP MPs Lalith Ellawala and Dr. Thilak Rajapaksa said that they will work for Sajith Premadasa’s victory in the upcoming Presidential Election.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has submitted a proposal to the Cabinet to amend the Constitution with the aim of legalising the state policy of limiting the presidential term to five years. He has made another tactic to be in power. Its aim is to amend the article 83 (A) of the Constitution.
MP S. M. Marikkar said, “The current President has no public mandate. After the Aragalaya, the current Parliament also has no mandate. The Election Commission will have the power to call the Presidential Election in another five days. There is no need to bring something like this within these five days in a hurry.
“A new President will be elected in October. Thereafter there will be a parliamentary election. Then there will be a President and a Parliament which has a public mandate. It will be possible to reconsider the tenure of the President after he is appointed.
“The President said that he ended the era of queues, rescued the country from bankruptcy and did debt restructuring. If the President has done all these things why is he scared of facing the election? The President’s efforts to extend his tenure would pave the way to lose his votes.”
Tough decision
The passengers were facing a lot of inconvenience until last Thursday due to the trade union action of the station masters and controllers. Minister of Transport, and Highways Dr. Bandula Gunawardena had taken a tough decision.
This meant that all those who do not report to work by 12.00 noon on that day will be deemed to have vacated their posts. Even as the sun started to set, the problem did not seem to be solved. There was no change in the Minister’s decision.
In the end, the Minister ordered Transport Ministry Secretary Ranjith Rubasinghe and the General Manager of Railways to issue letters to one thousand people who joined the strike, considering them as having vacated their posts.They proceeded to act accordingly.
Meanwhile, the Minister’s decision did not change even though religious leaders and political organisations attempted to prevent the issuing of warning letters to the strikers.
Later, President Ranil Wickremesinghe spoke to Minister Gunawardena. To prevent the strike from dragging on further, the President told the Minister to take immediate measures along with former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, the Convener of the National Movement for Social Justice. On the instructions given by the President, Karu Jayasuriya was also ready to intervene to resolve the problem.
At that moment Karu Jayasuriya spoke to Minister Bandula Gunawardena. “How do we do this?” “Let’s talk for the last time”
Accordingly at 7.30 p.m, Minister Bandula Gunawardena and State Minister Lasanta Alagiyawanna went to Karu Jayasuriya’s residence at Amarasekara Mawatha, Havelock Town. Railway union representatives also came there. Both sides reached an agreement that could effectively end the discussions that lasted for about two hours.
Karu Jayasuriya performed a valuable mission for that. Accordingly, it was decided that no disciplinary action will be taken against anyone who reports to work before 12 midnight on that day for violating essential services. Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that disciplinary action will be taken against others who do not act accordingly. Eventually, both sides reached a favourable solution.
