Talking
point
The talking point is how a big boss has given the top slot of a
departmental arm to his wife. Others are complaining that she has
more than what she can chew. No one wants to raise the issue openly
for fear of reprisal but many have flown into a rage.
See
for herself
President Chandrika Kumaratunga returned to the country from her
overseas trip on Wednesday. A helicopter was on ground at Katunayake
to airlift her but the President insisted she wanted to travel to
Colombo by road. The reason was she wanted to see all the election
propaganda material that has come up along the road. No doubt she
would have had an overdose of the smiling faces of the two main
candidates which have become quite an eyesore to people.
Cost
of in-fighting
The Additional Director General who was appointed to the Rupavahini
Corporation during the absence of the President who was away in
New York recently, was sacked last week along with another senior
additional DG who was in charge of the technical work at the Corporation.
It was a result of the spill over of the in-fighting within the
SLFP with the sacked men being accused of giving too much publicity
to the JVP. They have also been accused of pocketing millions of
rupees after importing some transmitting equipment which is now
lying idle.
Sweet
revenge
The President was the chief guest at a function held at the BMICH
on Thursday to felicitate her for her contribution to the field
of education. Midway into the proceedings, a group of young folk
walked through the hall shouting slogans and carrying placards and
got on to the stage. Most people were caught unawares and wondered
if a group of protestors had invaded the function hall. It was not
so but it was a part of the programme. The posters were similar
to the many that came up on city walls not so long ago denouncing
moves to privatise education and the so-called Peter Harrold (World
Bank Representative) and Tara De Mel (Education Ministry Secretary)
conspiracy to destroy free education.
The
President too commented on this sequence in her speech saying she
was wondering if one of Pemier Rajapakse’s election rallies
was being held there. It seems the brains behind the whole episode
was none other than the Education Secretary herself. Must have been
sweet revenge because during the course of her speech the President
did not forget to lambaste the ‘group’ which insulted
Ms. De Mel in the most disgraceful manner just to gain a few extra
votes.
Hard
to fathom
Earlier it was the JVP which claimed that its efforts to bring back
Sri Lanka’s former glory had prompted UNP Presidential candidate
to talk of ushering in a ‘Perakum’ era. Now the JHU
says that all the posters of Mr. Wickremesinghe plastered all over
the city walls with the Dalada Maligawa in the background are thanks
to its efforts to bring about a Buddhist awakening in the country.
If one is to believe what they say, how the UNP survived all these
years without all the bright ideas of these two new entrants to
the political arena is hard to fathom.
One’s
own dose
Residents in the Koswatte area were victims of a spate of robberies
by a gang who allegedly used a gas that puts the victims into deep
slumber. Last week when one of the robbers entered a house and sprayed
the gas, it misfired and the man himself fell asleep. So when the
house owner woke up, she found a man asleep on the floor of her
room. Talk about being caught in one’s own trap.
Holding
the fort!
A meeting of the National Bhikku Front was held at the Maharagama
Youth Centre on Friday evening. JVP Propaganda Chief Wimal Weerawansa
made a lengthy speech lasting more than one and a half hours. He
only concluded when a note arrived saying Premier Mahinda Rajapakse
who was scheduled to attend would not be coming.
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