5th Column

My dear Mahinda maama,

I thought I must write to you because you were in the news recently, after a long time. All these months the focus has been on Gota maama’s goings and comings, and Basil maama’s visit to his motherland, but last week, you were in the limelight at a time when both of them have opted to keep a low profile.

I think we are a very generous nation, Mahinda maama. We seem to forget and forgive very easily. Just a few months ago, watching all those people at Galle Face storming Gota maama’s office and his official residence nearby, we thought that the ‘R’ clan would be in the dustbin of history by now.

We recall how the houses of the ‘pohottuwa’ MPs were set on fire, how you had to flee to a camp in Trincomalee when Temple Trees was under siege and how one of your MPs was beaten to death by a mob at Nittambuwa. Those days, it was a crime to be seen or heard, if you were a ‘pohottuwa’ MP.

Yet, last week at Kalutara, there you were with the ‘usual suspects’ in the ‘pohottuwa’ camp by your side – the likes of Johnny, Rohitha and Sanath – telling us that the lotus bud was ready to bloom again. No one hooted or jeered. Instead, they cheered. For a moment, it was as if the ‘aragalaya‘ never happened!

That gathering at Kalutara was called ‘ekwa negitimu’ or ‘let us rise together’. Some say it implies you are fallen now. On the other hand, some very unkind souls say it is appropriate because you need the assistance of someone to stand! Don’t they have any respect for the nation’s ‘appachchi’?

Some interesting things were said at that Kalutara meeting. We saw Rohitha sobbing like a child and then presenting you with a book which he said survived the fire at his house. He may be clever at becoming first on the Kalutara list, or at being fleet of foot on the railways, but his acting is quite poor.

Johnny was his usual self. Unlike others, he said it was unfair to blame Gota maama for everything. However, he may have let the cat out of the bag when he said that he didn’t wish to comment about what Gota maama’s friends said and did, so it does look like there are some skeletons in the cupboard.

Mahinda maama, you should teach Namal baby that he should sound sensible when he speaks in public. One moment, he was saying the ‘aragalaya’ was justified because it wanted a ‘system change’. In the next breath, he was speaking about how those at the ‘aragalaya’ were opportunists.

Namal baby did say that the era when the youth of the country had to ‘go behind’ a politician to get a job should come to an end. That is a noble thought indeed. Some will say that this was what he himself did, although, in his case, it was easy because he had so many politicians in his own family.

Then it got more confusing. On the same stage, a few minutes apart, Pavithra said that, as Health Minister, Nimal gave 10,000 jobs to party members and so did Aiyo Sirisena. She said she couldn’t give a single job to a ‘pohottuwa’ supporter under Gota maama. Is that what she thinks her job is for?

We all know Pavithra worships you, Mahinda maama - she has done so publicly, falling on her feet at a rally – but I don’t think she has fond memories of Gota maama. People with no political experience were put in high places and they ran away when there was a crisis, she said. Was she referring to him?

Some may say you should retire, but you still showed us that, when it is about conveying a message, no one can beat you. You said you used to criticise Uncle Ranil because he was in the UNP, but now that he is ‘with you’ and on the ‘correct path’, we should all support him. That got everyone talking!

Come to think of it, Mahinda maama, you have simply said what many already suspected. We can certainly see that Uncle Ranil is helping you but I am not so sure whether your ‘pohottuwa’ chaps are helping him. He can’t even get the Cabinet he wants because Basil maama nominates rascals to it.

It was good to see you in action after some time. The ‘pohottuwa’ has every right to try and bloom again, but if you want to do so with the likes of Rohitha, Johnny, Sanath Nishantha and Pavithra at the forefront, what can we say except that history will repeat itself, with or without Uncle Ranil!

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: The ‘pohottuwa’ chaps at Kalutara were upbeat about the next election and said they will win even more votes. Still, someone mentioned that the ‘pohottuwa’ was like the Phoenix, rising from the ashes. Does that mean that, despite all that was said, it is reduced to ashes now, Mahinda maama?