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The lofty ideals on which the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) was put together with the great promise to fight bribery and corruption and deal with the problems faced by the people with compassion, was shattered to a large extent by the actions of a few of its members in Parliament this week.

The voices that emanated from the floor of the House from some lawmakers who dangled the “yahapalanaya” carrot before voters to get elected not so long ago, raised some very serious questions on whether these parliamentarians are in to serve the public or, to further their personal interests.

Law and Order Minister Thilak Marapona caused the biggest stir on the day that JVP Parliamentary Group leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka moved an adjournment motion in the House to discuss large scale corruption and fraud that had taken place under the previous regime with particular mention of the Avant Garde floating armoury case.

Minister Marapona, a former Attorney General (AG), and whose one-time client was Avant Garde Maritime Services Chairman, Nissanka Senadhipathi, while participating in the debate, seemed to have forgotten he was speaking in Parliament and not in court.

His speech was directed wholly at defending his “client”, and in his zest to safeguard his “client’s” interests, he went as far as to belittle the men of the Police Dept which functions under his Ministry.

“You all are slandering this man (Senadhipathi) and saying he is a rogue and he is the biggest fraud this side of the Suez Canal, and you all are not allowing me to speak for him,” the Minister said, when he was interrupted by some Opposition lawmakers.

He went on to accuse the policemen who raided the ship that was anchored at the Galle Port, in which a large stock of weapons were found, of doing so to “score points.” “Like the police raided Millennium City in 2002 to score some points, they raided this ship too in a similar manner,” he said.

What the Minister failed to say was that the infamous raid on the Millennium City safe house of the operatives of the Sri Lanka Army’s Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) took place when he served as Defence Minister and his Cabinet colleague John Amaratunga served as Minister of Law and Order during the short tenure the UNP last held office between 2001-2004.

In contrast to his keen defense of his “Client”, a private individual, the Minister’s reaction to the excessive use of force by Police against protesting students,, and the Police bungling of the investigations into the murder of five-year-old Seya, was lukewarm.

On the other hand, Justice Minister Wijesdasa Rajapaksha, one of the biggest proponents of the anti-corruption campaigns during the Rajapaksa regime too, regrettably, instead of speaking to soothe public concerns about the manner in which the law is applied in one way to the politically powerful, and in a different manner to the common man, chose to belittle his parliamentary colleagues for their lack of knowledge of the law, because of their criticism of the manner in which the Avant Garde case was handled.

“I told the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet that those connected to Avant Garde cannot be charged for offences under the Firearms Ordinance, the Explosives Act or the Prevention of Terrorism (PTA), and that was also the opinion of the AG,” he said.

The Minister went onto staunchly defend the AG’s Department and its officials, and accused those who speak out about shortcomings within the Dept, of undermining the law.

“It could be possible, those who speak out against the AG’s Dept and the Police are doing so because they want to drag the country back to the era when jungle law prevailed,” the Minister said, an indirect reference to the JVPs reign of terror in the late 1980s -early 1990s.

This, coming from the Justice Minister, resonated more like the rhetorical speeches that people were accustomed to hearing often during the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, than a sane argument against criticism leveled at a Dept coming under his purview.

JVP MP Anura Dissanayaka who began the debate on the Avant Garde case, alleged that “Government ministers and officials have intervened to shield those connected to the case.”

Files have been hidden, officials were intimidated, and investigations stifled. The government that came to power to fight bribery and corruption is today engaged in doing the same thing. There are deal makers in this Government too,” he said.

The Motion was seconded by TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran who said the country is entitled to know the exact nature of the transactions that took place involving the floating armoury and asked the Government not to play hide and seek in this matter.

We supported the change on several fronts including on anti-corruption, but, if this is the way the Government conducts itself, I am afraid it won’t stand another year,” he said.

A few Government members voiced their frustration at the slow pace of investigations into large scale corruption that had taken place under the previous regime.

Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayaka was among them. “There are many allegations that Nissanka Senadhipathi has bought over many people. There are MPs, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, State Ministers, former defense secretaries, media institutions and media personnel connected to him.

We came here promising to catch and punish these corrupt persons. Now, instead of catching these thieves, they are paying those who come to catch them,” he said.

Minister of Mega polis and Western Province Development, Champika Ranawaka too voiced his dissatisfaction at the slow pace at which important investigations were being carried out.

“There is a growing perception among people that the law is lax toward influential sections in our country. What will happen when people lose faith in the legal system?

Then people will look for extrajudicial means. This is a country which has had enough and more insurrections. It is our responsibility to act in a manner so these are not repeated,” he said.

As JVP MP Bimal Ratnayaka said, the debate ended up largely sounding more like a “felicitation for Avant Garde Chairman Senadhipathi”, than one which Government members should have used to show they are serious about walking the pre-election talk of dealing with corruption.

One thing was clear during the day-long debate. While UNP and UPFA members are at each other’s throats, when it comes to certain issues, when it comes to safeguarding and defending their friends in high places, they are mostly all on the same side, while the interests of the public takes a back seat.