Columns

By Sandun Jayawardana  

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would have known when he arrived in Parliament on Tuesday (5) that he would likely meet with a hostile reception from opposition members. Nevertheless, the chants of “Go Home Gota” that echoed in the Chamber as he sat in the front row listening to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe speak on the prevailing economic crisis must still have stung. 

The chants began after Mr Wickremesinghe referred to a claim made by National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake that his party had a viable economic plan to restore normalcy in the country within six months. “Such a plan would be brilliant enough to win the Nobel Prize in Economics,” he quipped. Mr Wickremesinghe challenged the NPP Leader to submit such a plan to the President and claimed that he was willing to step down as PM and hand the reins over to Mr Dissanayake if he indeed had such a plan.

As the PM spoke, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarians, some holding up placards, broke out into chants of “Go Home Gota.” The chants were led by the likes of firebrand Kurunegala District MP Nalin Bandara and Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahman. Some Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs crowded around the President as the chants grew louder, with former Industries Minister S.B. Dissanayake leading chants of “We Want Gota” from the government benches.

If President Rajapaksa was unnerved by the chants directed his way, he did not show it, and even broke out into laughter when the PM said “I’m the one offering to resign but they are asking Gota to go.” As the uproar continued, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena suspended proceedings for 10 minutes after the PM concluded his speech. With sittings suspended, the President, too, walked out of the Chamber. Almost lost in the pandemonium was the presence of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in the House. This was the elder Rajapaksa’s first public appearance after rumours circulated last week that he had been hospitalised due to a serious illness.

National People Power Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake hit back at the PM’s comments later in the day. He noted that his party had stated on May 11 that it was ready to form a government. The NPP had also stated that if another party could form a government and present a specific programme with a timeframe for its implementation, it was prepared to support it from the opposition. “But even before our proposals were properly discussed, you suddenly took over as PM,” he told Mr Wickremsinghe.

He said no one is promising that the economic crisis could be resolved in six or seven months. The NPP leader, though, claimed his party could address immediate concerns including the shortages of fuel, gas and medicines, reopening schools and government offices, preventing factories from closing down, helping fishermen go out to sea and farmers back to their fields within that timeframe. After that, a Parliamentary election must be held as it was important to establish not just a stable government but a government that would have the trust of the people to chart a path towards long-term recovery, he said.

As the PM spoke, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarians, some holding up placards, broke out into chants of “Go Home Gota.”

The opposition continued to lash out at the Government’s inability to resolve the burning issues faced by the people and moved an adjournment debate on the “Present Situation of the Country” on Wednesday.

Opening the debate, SJB MP Rajitha Senaratne said the only solution to the crisis was for an all-party government to be formed after the President laid out a definite date for his resignation. He said the President, largely confined to his “bunker”, was totally ignorant of the hardships faced by the people.

Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Bandula Gunawardena called on all parties to put their differences aside and come together to at least agree on a common economic programme to enable Sri Lanka to recover from the present crisis. He said he was making this appeal “for the sake of future generations.” The minister said the Government was prepared to discuss possible solutions with any party or group that was willing to negotiate “without resorting to violence.”

Joining the debate, SJB MP Sarath Fonseka said the country’s entire political culture should undergo a radical transformation if the people hoped to have meaningful change. In a not so subtle jab at former President Maithripala Sirisena, the field marshal said the country’s then Defence Minister, who had looked the other way and allowed the Easter Sunday attacks to happen and who had lied before the Parliamentary Select Committee, had been elected by a landslide from the Polonnaruwa district. “Our people are satisfied with the Samurdhi. They are satisfied with a Rs. 2000 or Rs. 5000 handout. They must understand that their attitudes need to change if we are to come out of this hole.”

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said whatever the Government was, the people needed solutions to their problems. “We are uniting all parties in the opposition towards forming a solution-centric all-party government,” he said, referring to talks currently taking place. “This Government does not understand people’s suffering. The Government leaders are immune to the people’s pain. They do not care about the sufferings of the three-wheeler drivers, self-employed people or the daily wage earners, mothers or children,” he added. The Opposition Leader also claimed that they were prepared to form a new government that will actually get things done. “We will walk the talk,” he stressed.