5th Column

My dear Maithri,
It has been some time since I wrote to you last, but I thought I must do so now because you seem to have lost the support of those 16 MPs who voted against the Green Man during the vote of no-confidence. Officially, they have now said they will all support Mahinda maama now.
As a result, Maithri, you are left with just a two dozen Blue MPs supporting you and who knows how long that will last? After all, when the rats realise that the ship is sinking, they decide to jump and it is only a matter of time before the ‘pohottuwa’ boat comes along for them to do their somersault.

Maithri, it looks as if very soon, the only people left with you will be the handful who first walked out of Mahinda maama’s government with you when you resigned to run against him three and a half years ago. I hate to say this, but you have only yourself to blame for much of what is happening now.

After you won the election and sat on the throne, instead of dissolving Parliament immediately, you dragged your feet. You did so to prevent the Greens from getting a comfortable majority – which they would have got if a general election was held soon after the January 8 election.
You thought that just because you sat on the throne, the other Blues will simply abandon Mahinda maama and flock to you in return for ministerial perks and privileges. A few did so, but the vast majority stayed put with Mahinda maama. So, whatever you say about him, he has some charisma.

When people like Wimal and Vasu were going around talking of a ‘Mahinda Sulanga’ and Blue MPs were toying with the idea of joining their ranks, you didn’t crack the whip on them. We didn’t see the madu waligey, or the sword that you talk about so much and, as a result, one by one, they drifted away.

Having lost the support of most of the Blues, one would have expected you to stay close to the Greens. Instead, you then went about antagonising them too, sabotaging some of their programmes and publicly lashing out at the Green Man, their ministers and their policies every so often.

You did do a few good deeds. Passing that 19th amendment was one. It restored the checks and balances that were removed by Mahinda maama through the 18th amendment. Having a commission probe the big bank was also a good idea, although you may have had an ulterior motive for doing that.

Then we had the local government elections. The people gave you a timely warning. With your Blues getting just over one tenth of the vote, you were told in no uncertain terms that when they voted for you it was not because they really wanted you but because they wanted Mahinda maama out of office.

You didn’t see it that way. You thought that your vote was low because you are with the Greens. So, you lent your wholehearted support to oust the Green Man. Although the Green Man has proved twice that he is not a good leader, he has proved many times more that he is a survivor, so he survived.

That was a move that backfired spectacularly. If anything, it united the Greens who were grumbling against the Green Man’s ineffective leadership while it divided the Blues even more. Sixteen of them still went ahead and voted against the Green Man knowing that their votes would be in vain.

Now, that ‘group of sixteen’ have said they are no longer a ‘group of sixteen’ but a group of seventy accepting Mahinda maama’s leadership. I don’t think that leaves you with much choice, Maithri, except to retire and return to Polonnaruwa after your first term of office, just as you promised to do.

What’s more, Basil is laying down the law to that ‘group of sixteen’ telling them they should sever all links with you and accept Mahinda maama’s leadership if they want to be accepted by the ‘pohottuwa’ camp. Having no choice and facing defeat the next elections, all of them have agreed.

I don’t know whether you are aware, Maithri, because you are the last to know these things, but Gota is waiting in the wings. It is only a matter of time before he emerges from the shadows to take the baton in the Rajapaksa relay. Only Uncle Sam can stop him which is what the Greens are wishing for.

You would be better off had you stayed on the Green side and let the Blues mind their own business. By going back on your promise and eyeing a second term, you ruined your chances. For your sake, we hope you will not run again because you will be an ‘also ran’. Think about it, will you, Maithri?

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS – This is a time when buddhist monks are in the news, going to jail and making comparisons to Hitler. In a sense, it is your good fortune that Sobhitha hamuduruwo is not amongst us. Had he been with us, he would now be busy trying to oust you, just as he was busy trying to oust Mahinda maama!