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Lucre, filthy or not, talks
It seems eminence and public acceptability are no longer criteria to become the top guest of honour at a military function. All one has to possess is only millions or billions of rupees. No matter whether it is ill gotten or well gotten. Even the five star types will dance attendance bending backwards and forwards.

They will also stand to attention in all their regalia.
It happened a few weeks ago in a historic city. A casino king and a dealer in the stuff that raises spirits was the chief guest as well as the guest of honour. All because he had doled out millions so the boys in uniform could swim.

Not because the man who is swimming in money felt sorry for the uniformed types. He was the buddy of a top soldier in uniform no longer holding sway. This top soldier could not take part in the ceremonies because military establishments had been declared out of bounds to him. That is not to say he is out of a job. The chief guest had found him one under his own domain for a princely Rs. 200,000 a month.

That did not prevent the big boss of the organisation, spick and span in his official attire, taking part in ceremonies. He stood to attention solemnly behind the casino boss as he cut the ribbon to declare the venue open. That is not all. The boss, who is now fighting an internal war to eliminate all enemies within, wanted full publicity for the event.

But the great shock came when the big boss turned to the top soldier's wife who was present to grace the occasion which her hubby had made possible. What she said is not fit to print. The big boss' face turned as red as the red carpet that was laid out there.

As one officer who took part in the ceremony later remarked "it will soon be Potta Naufer's turn to make a similar contribution. He will sure become the chief guest and the guest of honour where the five star top brass will stand to attention." Why not when the Prince Alberts who are supposed to monitor all that is defence and security turn a blind eye.
They seem too busy settling old scores with new colleagues. Little wonder another black, if not dark, chapter is in the making.

Protocol gets in between
Angry top cops scowled at Foreign Ministry types recently over protocol for visiting VIPs. They say all this while a Police escort car was followed by the VIPs' vehicles.

But the FM types had now sandwiched a car from the Protocol Division between the VIP and the the escort car. One top cop was heard to say "we are now escorting the protocol boys and not the VIPs."

Put House in order first
There was a power cut during Parliamentary sessions on Thursday as UNP Parliamentarian Prof. G.L.Peiris was on his feet. Power and Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha was on his way in when the House was plunged into darkness. He was forced to take the steps to get to the Chamber while another top UPFA Minister D.M. Jayaratne noted before putting other things rights, first things needed to be put right in Parliament. So maybe it's not only the public who are kept in the dark any longer.

Unlikely ally
Agriculture Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake found an unlikely ally in TNA legislator N. Raviraj. He wanted to speak on the Disaster Management Bill before sittings wound up on Friday afternoon and had to borrow five minutes of Mr. Raviraj's time, which he willingly obliged with.

No such deal
Chief Opposition Whip Mahinda Samarasinghe denied in Parliament last week a state-run newspaper report that he had negotiated a deal with the Government to join as its Media Minister.

He said he had been in the UNP for 18 years and had come up to this position through hard work and was not going anywhere. One of his colleagues on the Government side asked him to check the source of this story. Maybe it originated from a party rival in the Kalutara area. Mr. Samarasinghe seems to have taken the bait because he noted it might be worth looking into that aspect as well.

More on bogus call
And there was more on the controversy that has sprung up since a impersonator called into a live TV political talk show three weeks ago claiming to be Small and Rural Industries Minister K.D. Lal Kanatha which prompted the JVPer to inform the CID about the incident.

Last week the Party's parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa told Parliament that the CID had traced the call to an employee of UNP Colombo district MP Ravi Karunanayake, a charge strongly denied by the UNPer. More on this show is likely in the weeks ahead.

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