5th Column

My dear Wimal sahodaraya,
I thought of writing to you because you seem to be in the headlines once again, writing books and having ceremonies to launch these books where you say that Parliament should be bombed. That remark has been taken seriously though we all know that what you say should not be taken seriously!

What we heard you say was that if at least seventy six parliamentarians do not oppose this ‘draft’ Constitution, Parliament should be bombed. We know you always operate on the principle that any publicity is good publicity – especially if you have a book to sell – but this is a bit too much, isn’t it?

Now, who can forget your publicity stunts? They have never failed to attract attention and keep you in the headlines for a few weeks, especially when people start to forget who Wimal sahodaraya is – although there have been times when they have made you look like you need your head examined!

Why, there was that time when you staged that so-called ‘fast unto death’ to protest against Ban Ki Moon appointing a panel of experts to probe Sri Lanka’s ‘war crimes’. That panel went ahead with their work and you tamely called off the fast after a few days- although it was a fast with Lemon Puff!

Then there was the occasion where you tried to show what an erudite gentleman you are. While attending a literary festival, you made a speech, telling everyone that the novel ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ was written by Guy de Maupassant. You sure did make Hemingway turn in his grave!

We also heard you announce proudly that you are so busy that you did not have the time to visit Sigiriya. Later we learnt that you had spent weeks gallivanting in sunny California. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but it is good to know that you socialists have got your priorities correct.

You were also in the limelight when you were detained at the airport after questions were raised about your passport. That seems to be something running in the Weerawansa family because your wife Shashi has also been accused of having obtained a passport after providing false information.

Then there is the minor matter of how you are accused of distributing government vehicles to your kith and kin- all of forty vehicles, causing the state to lose millions of rupees in revenue. It seems that when you became a minister, the entire Weerawansa family literally took the country for a ride.

You were produced in court and sent to prison and hey presto, you played the ‘fast unto death’ card again. I just wish that everyone is treated equally before the law in this Paradise of ours because, if they were, we could soon have a situation where anyone who is sent to prison stages a hunger strike.

Anyway it seems as if, just like issues related to passports, hunger strikes also run in your family. Your teenage daughter also joined in with a hunger strike of her own and made it look like you were being made a martyr- and after the Buddhist clergy also called for your release – released you were!

So, with stories like this, Wimal sahodaraya, you might now realise that many people will not mind Parliament being shut down – simply because people like you are also in it. Yet, I am not sure whether they will agree with you on the manner in which you hope to achieve this – by bombing Parliament.

Parliament was indeed bombed and two people were killed thirty years ago when JR was King. It is too much of a co-incidence that the man accused of that was your brother-in-law. So, even if people don’t usually take you seriously, when you say Parliament should be bombed, we have to take notice.

We also have people like that retired military chap Kamal, who has said that those supporting this new Constitution should be ‘killed’. I thought we lived in a democracy where differences of opinion were tolerated and even encouraged but it looks as if only the opinions of some people count.

Wimal sahodaraya, I heard that Karu will be looking into your remarks and taking action. Whatever happens, we hope that you wouldn’t suffer some serious consequence such as being expelled from Parliament. We simply can’t do without you because every Parliament is entitled to its ‘Andarey’!

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS- I heard that when you made those remarks, Mahinda maama was present but he said nothing. Similarly, when Kamal made those remarks about killing people who supported a new Constitution, Gota was present but he too said nothing. What all of you are saying is that only your views matter – and that who oppose you should be destroyed. I would have thought Mahinda maama and Gota would have realised by now that this is why they lost the last election – but it seems that they haven’t!