5th Column

My dear Maithri,

I thought I should write to you when I heard that you had met Mahinda maama and Basil for a chat at SB’s home last week to try and see whether you could work together and oust the Greens from the government. Many were shocked to hear that but knowing you, I don’ think they were surprised.

The meeting created quite a stir, with some newspapers and media outlets saying that a ‘caretaker’ government with Mahinda maama as PM was imminent. Since then, nothing much has happened. All we know is that some ‘pohottuwa’ chaps are quite angry that this idea is even being considered.

Maithri, pardon me if my memory doesn’t serve me well but I distinctly remember you telling us in an ‘address to the nation’ no less, just before the last general election three years ago, that even if the Blues won that election, you wouldn’t be appointing Mahinda maama as your Prime Minister.

At that time, the Greens were very happy with that statement which probably cost the Blues many votes. Now, you yourself are virtually begging Mahinda maama to join you, so you can oust the Green Man. Maithri, you have just shown us that you have less shame than those Pidurangala boys!

Of course, trying to change history so that it reflects you in a better light is nothing new to you. While in New York recently you said that it was you who stayed on in the country in the last two weeks of the war while both Mahinda maama and the Field Marshal fled the country due to security risks.

Even those who were foolish enough to vote for you wouldn’t believe that story. The Field Marshal ticked you off, saying that only those who think like corporals and sergeants would say so. What’s more, you have now admitted that you were out of Colombo and in hiding in case of air attacks!

I know you wanted the details of your meeting with Mahinda maama kept a secret but you didn’t have much of a chance with Basil very keen to let the rest of the world know about what happened. Also, the meeting was held at SB’s home and he is a blabbermouth recognised even by the Supreme Court!

You were told in no uncertain terms by Mahinda maama that they have little desire to join forces with you unless you demonstrate that you are genuine in your intentions by pulling the Blues out of the government, so the Greens would lose their majority. That’s a tough demand to meet, isn’t it?

At that meeting, Maithri, it must have felt like the good old days (or the bad old days, if that is how you wish to see it), with Mahinda maama telling you what he wants done and demanding that you follow his instructions. No wonder then that nothing positive emerged from that meeting!

Mahinda maama has been in this game longer than you have and he must be remembering how you promised to oust the Green Man with that infamous motion of no confidence. At the eleventh hour, you pulled out, leaving the ‘pohottuwa’ chaps and even the Blues who voted against it, high and dry.

That is why Mahinda maama is now demanding his pound of flesh. He knows he is much more popular than you ever were, because even when you won against him, that was with the Green votes and only because the Greens asked us to vote for you- and not because you were the better candidate.

I do feel sorry for you, Maithri. Three years ago, you enjoyed the confidence of the nation. You gave us hope that you would take us in a different direction by cleaning up the system, abolishing your all-powerful office and then retiring, making room for a cleaner and better brand of politics.

Instead, like Satellite and Mahinda maama before you, you broke your promises. You want to run for office once more. While we had hoped you would be above party politics, you wanted to take over the Blues and run it according to your wishes. You wanted to lead the Blues instead of leading the nation.

Maithri, your days at the top are numbered. You can try every trick in the book to stay put but you’ve bitten the hand that fed you not once, but twice. That is why, by January 2020, you will be out of a job. Remember, you can only be elected to your office, not appointed- unlike grama sevakas.

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS- First you stabbed Mahinda maama in the back and took his job. Then you stabbed the Green Man in the back, forgetting that you are where you are because of him. Brutus and Judas must be quite happy because whenever there is a great betrayal, people won’t talk about them anymore, they will talk about Maithri instead!