If he's not playing for high stakes, the regional politico is reputed for his Biriyani buffets in honour of party stalwarts.
There were more than 200 of them one night this week to see
Opposition and United National Front (UNF) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe greet party loyalists, dine with them and wax eloquent.
The event was almost ending when the party's Kotte parliamentarian, who has shifted to Colombo North for the next General Elections, reached out to his mobile phone. The motions he made led others to wonder whether he was addressing a public rally.
As he ended the call, the scene changed. Like a compere at a musical show, Karunanayake exhorted, "he is coming here now." Who? It was an uninvited guest or more appropriately a gate crasher.
Within seconds, Nishantha Muthuhettigama, appeared there. He held two posters, one about himself and another on Anarkali. He spent a moment to shake hands with his host whom he had never before met. Then went on to talk about his woes.
Not so long ago, he arrived at the annual dinner-dance of the Royal College Union at Colombo Hilton. A VVIP security detail that was rushed to the hotel to personally ascertain what happened, after a party apparatchik engaged him in a duel at the dance and telephoned the powers-that-be, later reported on the matter.
This week's dinner was the last supper for him as a free man, at least for the moment. A few days later, he was arrested for disobeying a court order to appear in court and is now having anything but Biriyani as a guest of Mahinda Rajapaksa's Government in remand prison.
Dropping bricks, buildings and now skyscrapers
For those who cause a gaffe or make blunders, the Sri Lankan axiom is to say "dropping bricks". When they are of a bigger proportion, we would even call it "dropping buildings."
By that yardstick, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, some wags may say, has now mastered the art of "dropping skyscrapers." They may not be wrong.
Just this week, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, directed the Foreign Ministry to make it known to India that it was not his or his Government's policy to lay claims to any part of India's sovereign territory. This was done through diplomatic channels both in Colombo and New Delhi.
This is after the latest "skyscraper" that Bogollagama dropped. He told Parliament India's Andaman Islands would come within the area which Sri Lanka was hoping to claim in keeping with its sea bed rights from the UN Commission on the limits of the continental shelf.
The Andaman Islands are part of an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal and are considered Union territory. The area is known to be a strategic location important for India's security interests.
But Bogollagama insists that the Government's claim would be discussed with India before making final submissions to the UN Commission. An Indian diplomatic source said, "There is absolutely no question of any inch of sovereign Indian territory being up for negotiation. We are pleased President Rajapaksa has set the record right."
Well, this is not the first time Mr. Bogollagama has left a trail of diplomatic devastation in the conduct of Sri Lanka's foreign policy. The most recent ones have only added to it.
Years ago, he turned down a request by a three-member panel of the EU studying the extension of the GSP Plus concessionary tariff scheme to visit Sri Lanka. In September, this year, however, he told the EU head that they should send a delegation to Sri Lanka to study ground realities.
Two weeks ago, Bogollagama described the US report on "war crimes" in Sri Lanka as "uncorroborated" and "fabricated by vested interests." It took Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe to declare that Bogollagama's comment was not the view of President Rajapaksa or his Government.
In fact, on Friday Samarasinghe announced that the President had appointed a five-member committee to study the US report and forward their findings to him before December 31 this year. Even the armed forces commanders and the police chief have been told to extend their co-operation.
This week, Mr. Bogollagama gave the wrong advice to the US Government on the Sarath Fonseka affair. He said, "Whatever Gen. Fonseka may have become aware of during his service with the Government of Sri Lanka and in the course of his duties, has the status of privileged information. He has no authority to divulge or share this information with third parties, without the prior approval and consent of the Sri Lankan authorities."
In reality, that advice should have been directed at General Fonseka, who is still serving as Chief of Defence Staff. After all, Gen. Fonseka could have been trusted. The fact that he told the US Government, and later publicised it, came as official confirmation that relations between Sri Lanka's top most military official and the Government were strained.
The billion-dollar question now asked is why Mr. Bogollagama is being allowed to continue dropping "skyscrapers" whilst other ministers are asked to do damage control.
Kadala convention
UNP Kurunegala district MP Dayasiri Jayasekera walked into the Chamber of Parliament on Friday with a packet of "kadala" (gram) in his hand and was munching away when it caught the attention of a few government members.
A short while later the likes of Ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Rohitha Abeygunawardena were seen munching away themselves, having been sent some gram across the floor of the House through a messenger.
Eating inside the Chambers is not regarded as good etiquette. But then when most other conventions of the House are being eroded one by one, another will not make much of a difference. How come there is bi-partisanship displayed in the House only for bad things?
They did not see the
former Sea Chief
Former Navy Chief, retired Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, is adept both at maritime warfare as he is with media campaigns. He did the two tasks with equal vigour.
He was a disappointed man this week. He had not been invited by Navy Headquarters for a seminar on Maritime Threats from non-state actors in the Asian region. It was held at the Taj Samudra
Hotel and organised by Navy Headquarters.
Ravi can't fly
UNP Colombo district MP Ravi Karunanayaka was among those invited to attend a seminar on International Parliamentary Governance. It was organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, U.K. branch and slated to begin on Monday.
Karunanayaka has, however, reluctantly taken the decision not to participate in the seminar saying he will not be able to attend due to "political harassment meted out by the Government, resulting in my passport being impounded."
Diplomatic googly
A western diplomat was on a much publicised tour of the south. At a hotel in Galle he sat down to a chat with an Opposition parliamentarian who is now in the news for allegedly proposing multi billion rupee deals to Government leaders.
The diplomat asked him "What do you think of General Sarath Fonseka becoming a Presidential candidate?" The man replied "I am opposed to it."
Then the diplomat, conversant with cricket and the parlance that goes with it, bowled a googly. "But, isn't he very popular with the people," he asked.
"Yes, we need a good democratic force and not a military one," came the reply from the politico.
Victory has many retired fathers
Coming soon on private
TV channels!!
Some retired military types who figured in offensives in the east, the prelude to the defeat of the Tiger guerrillas in the North, are preparing to appear on the screen.
They want to speak about their victories. More importantly, they want to say it is they who secured the victories. A case of history being re-written many times. But who cares?
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