My dear Sajith,
I thought I must write to you, first to congratulate you on your election as one of the two deputy leaders of the Green party and also to share some thoughts with you on what has been happening in the Green camp over the past few months.
What you must understand Sajith, is that politics is not always like cricket and it is not a gentleman’s game anyway. For example, after he failed to win the World Cup four years ago, Mahela stepped down and asked Kumar to take over. Politics is rarely that simple; that didn’t happen with the Greens.
Then, Sajith, I think you also ought to realise that the crown rarely passes on from a parent to a child in a democracy. Of course you will argue that it did, from D.S. to Dudley and Sirima to Satellite and might even happen again from Mahinda maama to Namal but these matters are not always that easy.
Why, Sir John was furious that Dudley was asked to succeed D.S. and Anura was furious that Satellite was made leader after Sirima and who knows, there may be fireworks in the Blue camp if Namal tries to follow Mahinda maama!
There is nothing wrong of course, in staking your claim but some in the Green camp say you have done little for the Greens at the national level to demand the leadership other than carrying your father’s name and gallivanting around Hambantota, and that is not an unfair comment either.
You might of course argue this is exactly what Satellite also did and that she went on to lead the Blues for two consecutive terms thereafter, but then look at what a mess she made of it –and the country-in the process!
All your talk of serving the ‘gam mattamey’ and ‘bim mattamey’ people may have struck a chord, but when it finally mattered, there were very few people who supported you which is why the Green Man dared you to contest him. So, you should be wary of some of your new friends, Sajith.
More than all this, Sajith, I believe the mistake you made was to make public and personal remarks against the Green Man and promising a ‘Premadasa era’ once again. You should have known better Sajith, because the ‘Premadasa era’ is not exactly hailed as the golden age of this country!
You may have also noticed the Green Man never criticized you in public although he may have plotted against you behind closed doors. And remember, this is someone who stood steadfastly with your father when almost everybody else wanted to desert him during that infamous impeachment.
Why, rebelling against authority is something you may have inherited, Sajith. When you were still in your ‘jungees’, your father had a spat with Dudley and formed his own ‘Purawesi Peramuna’ and was jeered when he came for Dudley’s funeral. At least you didn’t go to that extreme!
But to look on the bright side Sajith, you have become the Number Two among the Greens, although you have to share the job with someone who is twenty five years senior to you. You should be happy, rather than sad or angry because your day will eventually come and all you have to do now is wait.
You should also count yourself lucky, Sajith. Had Uncle Karu not deserted the ranks once and joined Mahinda maama he would have been the leader today. Had SB remained with the Greens, he would have been a strong contender. Had SF joined the Greens he too would have been an aspirant. So, you happened to be at the right place at the right time-which is what politics is sometimes all about- and now you are Number Two. At the minimum, you have been able to sideline Ravi, and push him into the ‘also ran’ category!
I hope you will make use of this opportunity to work with the Green Man and try and rebuild an Opposition worthy of its name. Forty years ago, your father helped the Green Man’s uncle do it, so there is no reason why history cannot repeat itself.
And certainly there are similarities between the two of you and the two of them. The Green Man is also as wily as they come but was never one to smile for the cameras, hug babies and chat to people on the wayside -just like J.R. was. And you of course, seem to be a chip of the old block!
I do however hope you don’t repeat the mistakes that your father made. He ill-treated his potential rivals such as Lalith and Gamini and that is what paved the way for Satellite. So, if you do form a government of your own someday, do remember to give those like Ravi their due place.
But the immediate task before you now is to join hands with the Green Man. I know he too should reciprocate and give you a free hand to rebuild the Greens. We hope that happens, because every country needs a strong Opposition just as much as it needs a strong government!
Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS-Some media outlets which went out of their way to support you in your bid for the leadership are still at it, trying to humiliate the Green Man-and that will only harm the Greens some more. Maybe that should be your first task: to tame those monsters that you seem to have unwittingly unleashed!
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