5th Column

My dear Udith,

I thought I must write to you because many people seem to be suddenly talking about you, although not in a very flattering way. They are making many accusations against you — and tarnishing Mahinda maama’s good name too in the process. Surprisingly, you haven’t said anything at all in response.

Udith, this is probably the most publicity that you ever got in your career and being a politician, any publicity is better than no publicity. People hardly knew about you even though you first entered Parliament a dozen years ago. Even when someone talked about you, it was only as Vi Ja Moo’s son.

Your father, Vi Ja Moo, was a different character altogether. He was swept in to Parliament in JR’s landslide victory in ’77. Though he was only a first timer in Parliament, he immediately raised many eyebrows with his long hair, his peculiar style of speech and his use of language. He got noticed.

JR then appointed him as a Non-Cabinet minister for Indigenous Medicine. He used that to popularise ‘kola kenda’. Staff in his ministry were asked to answer the telephone saying ‘ayubowan’ instead of ‘hello’. What this showed was that, there was a clever politician behind the mask of the maverick.

Your father held important portfolios such as Education and Justice but perhaps his best performance was as Speaker. To get to that job, your father had to win a hard fought election. He won by just one vote against good old Dew. Voting in that election took longer than the general election: nine hours!

In that contest, Dew was nominated by the governing Blue Party which was led by Satellite. Mahinda maama was to become its Prime Minister a couple of days later. They tried every trick in the book to prevent your father from becoming Speaker — and that included rowdy Mervyn manhandling a monk!

Yet, six years later, you joined the party that tried to prevent your father from becoming Speaker. The story is told of how on your wedding day, you received two gifts, one from the Green Man and one from Mahinda maama, both offering you the Haputale party organiser post for their respective parties.

By that time, your father was making public pronouncements in support of Mahinda maama who had just won the war against terror. It was obvious that, even though he had been with the Greens for over thirty years, what mattered to him was not loyalty to the party he had served but your political future.

Being the smart politician that he was, when asked why he allowed you to join the party he fought with for decades, he famously said ‘eyaa den loku lamayek’ or ‘he’s a big boy now’ meaning that you make your own decisions- but it is unthinkable that it was not discussed at the family dinner table!

You entered Parliament but your stint lasted just five years. You were booted out soon after Mahinda maama made his exit and then we became used to seeing you by his side when he went about trying to regain the confidence of the masses. Why, once he even called you ‘moda yakek’ or ‘foolish devil’.

Udith, we have heard only side of the story that is circulating. The allegation is that money to the tune of 35 million rupees has been siphoned off from Mahinda maama’s bank account to which his salary was paid, using his bank card. Some claim that you are the only person who had access to that card.

Others who relate the story are playing it really safe, but that is not helping anyone. They are saying that the person responsible was ‘a parliamentarian and also the son of a former Speaker and closely associated with Mahinda maama’. I can’t imagine how Shashindra must be feeling these days!

We are told you have been stood down from being Mahinda maama’s Man Friday. They say the matter was resolved and that no further action is required. It seems that in this Paradise of ours, when money is siphoned from banks, be it the Central Bank or the PM’s account, nothing happens.

Unfortunately, questions are being asked that makes Mahinda maama uncomfortable. Some ask how much money one needs to have to ‘forget’ an account with 35 million rupees. Some wonder how he lasted ten years without a salary. Others claim his salary for ten years doesn’t add up to that amount.

If you clarified matters, the public will know what became of the money they paid their leader but you have been very silent, Udith. Still, we can be certain that firstly, you are not the ‘moda yaka’ Mahinda maama thought you to be. Secondly, you seem to be very qualified to contest the next election!

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS- When young Namal was asked about this, he said he knows nothing. He also told us that Mahinda maama did not undergo minor surgery — only for Chamal maama to confirm that he did. Judging by all what has happened, it is not you who should have been called ‘moda yakek’ by Mahinda maama!