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House in rare display of unity pays tribute, fetes Lanka’s T-20 World Cup champs
View(s):There was a rare show of unity in Parliament this week when legislators from all sides came together to pay tribute to the T-20 Cricket World Cup winning team who were invited to the Speaker’s Gallery of the House as special guests on Wednesday evening, and feted for their historic achievement.
The players were given a red carpet welcome as they made their way through the public entrance of Parliament to be escorted to the VIP Gallery, from where they listened to legislators from both sides of the House pay tribute to them during an hour-long session.
Leader of the House Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva moved the motion of tribute during which he thanked the players for the team spirit with which they played to bring glory to the country.
“You set aside personal agendas and worked together to bring pride to our nation,” he said. The motion was seconded by acting Leader of the Opposition MP John Amaratunga who thanked the players, trainers and selectors on behalf of the UNP for their achievements. “Cricket is a game that brings all of the people of this country together, and you have given the people a chance to celebrate,” he said.
JVP MP Anura Dissanayaka said that in a country where victories are not always celebrated in union, the T-20 victory has allowed the people to come together, irrespective of race or religion. “The cricketers have had to face many challenges, the victory was not a matter of luck, but due to hard work and dedication,” he said.
MP Arjuna Ranatunga who led Sri Lanka to its 1996 World Cup victory also heaped praise on the T-20 winning side, saying that Sri Lanka has shown the entire world its capabilities in the game of cricket. ”At a time when a few countries in the ICC are trying to take control of the game, at a time when the game has become a business, we have shown the world that our cricketers are a force to reckon with,” he said.
The cricketers listen to proceedings from the visitors’ gallery. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, in his speech, recalled the names of all Sri Lankans who contributed towards the advancement of the sport in Sri Lanka, while Minister of Justice Rauff Hakeem who was in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when Sri Lanka won the Cup, said that cricket is a game that brings great comradeship among the people of this country. “One former cricket captain wrote that “Cricket is the great leveller. I agree with that,” he said.
Many of the legislators paid special tribute to Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayewardene, saying they have brought pride to the country and inspired many young players by being role models for them.
The players were later hosted to a tea party in the MPs cafeteria, where they chatted with the Parliamentarians and posed for photographs. Captain of the T-20 winning team, Lasith Malinga, was seen proudly carrying the Trophy with him. The damper to the otherwise upbeat mood in Parliament, where sentiments of the togetherness of Sri Lankans was being expressed aplenty, was the absence of all Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs who decided to keep away during the proceedings.