ISSN: 1391 - 0531
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Vol. 42 - No 04
Columns - Lobby  

A criss-cross govt. faces mounting opposition

By Chandani Kirinde, Our Lobby Correspondent

It was clear that former ministers Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi were trying to emulate the famous 1951 crossover by the founder of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, when they walked across the Well of the House on Tuesday and took their seats among the opposition members in Parliament.

The following day, Mr. Samaraweera, speaking from the last row of the opposition benches, quoted extensively from the speech made by the SLFP founder on that historic day. Mr. Samaraweera began and ended his lengthy statement with the words of the late Prime Minister, whose founding of a new political party led to a revolutionary upheaval in Sri Lankan politics.

Mr. Samaraweera quoted Mr.Bandaranaike to underscore his view that the SLFP had strayed away from the policies of the Party’s founding father including, “not tolerate one man's or a group's dictatorship but be a genuine party of the people.”“Although Mr. Bandaranaike made this statement then, today, after 18 months of the present regime, we have a government that is controlled by a few family members and their political cronies,” Mr. Samaraweera said.

Most of the government members present listened patiently to the words of the one time staunch confidant of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, except for a brief interruption from Deputy Minister Mervin Silva who took offence to the references Mr. Samaraweera made about the Rajapaksa brothers.

Although the crossover by the two men caused a stir in Parliament, the government had other equally big problems on its hands with the UNP and the JVP both speaking out against the supplementary estimates of over Rs. 600 million it wanted approved to fund six new ministries that were created in January mainly to accommodate the UNP MPs who joined the government.

It was the JVP that led the attack, starting off on the legality of bringing in supplementary estimates for new ministries. After many arguments going to and fro, Speaker W.J.M.Lokubandara said that after consulting the Attorney General, he had established that the procedure was legal and the supplementary estimates would not exceed the monies allocated by the Appropriation Bill for the 2007 financial year. The Opposition called for a vote on the estimates but the government managed to get a majority of 20 votes despite a combined UNP, JV and TNA vote against it.

Throughout the week, JVP members had been raising issues about waste and corruption in the government. The hiring of vehicles at exorbitant rates for use by ministers and their personal staff, were being continuously questioned. JVP Parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa also raised two issues during the week, one regarding the sale of 60,000 acres of land in Uva Wellessa and the government’s inaction over the Auditor General’s report on wide scale tax frauds in state institutions.

On Thursday, when the Ceylon Hotels Corporation (repeal) Bill came up for debate, again the JVP showed the government it meant business, by calling for a vote. This time though the JVP did not get the support of either the UNP or the TNA and the government managed to get the Bill passed. Elections appeared to be very much on the minds of all political parties in Parliament, including the JVP.

Its decision to take on the government, on issues such as the high cost of living, waste and corruption, instead of their pet subjects of the Cease Fire Agreement and the Norwegians, seemed to be directed at prospective voters. The UNP too was trying to do its part to undermine the government. On Thursday, Chief Opposition Whip, Joseph Michael Perera, raised the issue of the eviction of Tamils from lodges in Colombo as an adjournment motion and asked why no action had been taken against those behind the move despite the Prime Minister’s expression of regret and admission that the evictees did not go voluntarily.

This is one issue on which the government continues to blunder. Since the Prime Minister’s expression of regret, different ministers have aired their views on the matter contradicting the Premier. Adding to the confusion was Labour Minister Athauda Seneviratne, who was picked to answer on behalf of the government on the issue. Much of his reply consisted of quotes from the speech that President Rajapaksa made to the ILO in Geneva recently, which in some ways again sought to justify the eviction. And after getting into an argument with opposition members about the government’s changing stance on the issue, Mr.Seneviratna finally said action would be taken against those responsible for the eviction.

The stakes are now stacked higher for the government, with the Samaraweera/Sooriyarachchi duo too joining the opposition ranks and speaking of a broad alliance to topple the government at the ‘right time.’ Ironically, S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike had D.A.Rajapaksa, the father of the present President, by his side when he took that historic step in 1951 to form a new party. Fifty six years later, two members of that party are accusing the son of D.A.Rajapakse of “completely reversing the noble principles of the SLFP”.

Past experience in Sri Lankan politics has shown that crossing the Well of the House is the easy part when politicians decide to switch loyalties, sustaining the momentum that such a move entails, is far more difficult.

 
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Copyright 2007 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka.