5th Column

My dear Dayasiri,
I thought I must write to you because somehow you seem to find a way to be in the news. When you resigned from the Cabinet recently, giving up looking after sports and became just another MP in the opposition, we thought we wouldn’t hear from you for some time but you have proved us wrong.

However, I was taken by surprise when I heard you say that you had accepted a million rupee ‘donation’ from those who were supposedly responsible for the bond scam in the big bank. After all, weren’t you one of those people who were demanding that the bond scammers be dealt with properly?

It is not that you haven’t done about turns before. In fact, Dayasiri, you have performed quite a few of them. Although you began your journey as a youngster in the Blue party, you first came to our attention as an active and dynamic member of the Greens at a time when they were in the opposition.

That was your finest hour. You criticised the Blues and Mahinda maama regularly. It seemed only a matter of time before you reached the highest levels in the Green party. You wanted to be its national organiser, when Karu and Sajith challenged the Green man for the leadership, but you couldn’t.

You were always critical of the Green Man and then, despite constantly reassuring us that you wouldn’t leave the Greens, we woke up one day to find that you had embraced Mahinda maama. How you could join someone you were so critical of baffled us at that time- but not anymore!

When Mahinda maama was challenged by Maithri, you were by his side, campaigning for him and hurling insult after insult at Maithri. You said that Maithri swayed like a ‘korawakka’, had no backbone or personality and was no match for Mahinda maama. Little did we know, you were right!

Yet, after Maithri won the election and became the big boss, who is there with him, landing the plum job of looking after Sports- it is you, Dayasiri! Of course, you didn’t do a great job of it. Under you, our cricket fell to its lowest level and you got called a ‘rilawa’ by Malinga- but that is another story.

You must really hate the Green Man because, after failing to oust him from the leadership of the Green party while you were there, you were one of those who tried to kick him out of Temple Trees through a vote of no confidence. That failed and you did another about turn- joining the opposition.

I suppose it is now just a matter of time before you join Mahinda maama again because you know that Maithri’s days at the top are numbered. With the ‘pohottuwa’ chaps demanding action against the bond thieves, this revelation that you accepted money from them must be really inconvenient for you!

But of course, Dayasiri, you have an innocent explanation for all this. You say you got a cash cheque for a million rupees which you encashed without even bothering to find out who gave that money because it is quite ‘normal’ for businessmen to make donations and for politicians to accept them.

So, Dayasiri, we now have to believe that businessmen in this country go about throwing their money at politicians just out of goodwill, expecting absolutely nothing in return. Politicians too accept them without providing any favours. Has it ever occurred to you that this sounds like a fairy tale?

Come to think of it, there is no difference between Ravi and you. Ravi also didn’t bother to find out who was paying the rent for his million rupees a month apartment. Ravi had to resign because of that but fortunately you had already resigned when this story came out so it made no difference to you.

Because of you- and Sujeewa, as of two days ago- there are rumours that one hundred and eighteen MPs benefited from this bond scam. Only the Field Marshall disclosed it. Yet you and Sujeewa are the only ones being hounded. The difference is that the Field Marshall did so before being found out.

Dayasiri, I daresay that the day is near when you will start singing the praises of Mahinda maama again. The sad truth though is about what might have been. Had you stayed with the Greens, now you would have been a top Green leader, much higher than anywhere you would get to in the Blue camp!

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS- Dayasiri, you must be thankful for small mercies because you now have Sujeewa for company. Like you, he too was a ‘thoththa babaa’ (little baby) who didn’t know where the money came from until the Police told him, but he has taken (or was given) three times as much money. He waited all this time to tell us that he would donate the money that came from a liquor company to the Dalada Maligawa. Hearing all this, Dayasiri, I honestly don’t know whether I should laugh or cry!