JHU monks sell luxury car permits to raise funds for party

The seven monk MPs of the Jathika Hela Urumaya sold their luxury car permits recently at Rs.5 million each and donated the proceeds amounting to Rs.35 million to the party coffers.

Party sources said three of the monks who had no private means of transport to attend to their work were later provided with three vehicles purchased by the party for about Rs.2 million each.

Out of the seven remaining JHU monks, Ven. Omalpe Sobitha resigned his seat last week to enable lay member of the party Champika Ranawaka to enter Parliament and be appointed to the Cabinet as the Environment Minister.

In the April 2004 general election nine JHU monks were elected to Parliament. Soon afterwards Ven. Aparekke Punyananda joined the Government allegedly at the behest of the JVP. According to JHU sources Ven. Punyananda Thera is once again getting closer to the party with the evolving political situation.

A far greater drama took place at the time of electing the Speaker after the 2004 election with the Government having a razor thin majority, when two monks of the JHU Ven. Kathaluwe Rathanaseeha Thera and Ven. Punyananda Thera voted for the ruling party candidate at a time the JHU had taken a decision to abstain from voting in the election of the Speaker.

At the time the party claimed that the two monks were coerced into voting for the Government candidate. This resulted in two other monks of the party voting in favour of the UNP candidate W.J.M. Lokubandara, who was elected.

Following the crisis that arose in the party thereafter Ven. Rathanaseeha Thera resigned and in his place the next JHU candidate with the highest number of votes from the Colombo district Ven. Akmeemana Dayaratna Thera entered Parliament while Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera chose to align with the UNP.

JHU sources said they resorted to this method of raising funds because they didn’t want to get funds from businessmen, unlike other parties.