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For the sceptic, this is just political drama. When push comes to shove, the coalition partners will join hands. However, tensions that had slowly been brewing between the SLPP and its coalition partners for months were gathering momentum over a variety of issues. In recent weeks, it was the spat between the SLPP and a group of 11 coalition partners over the controversial agreement on the Yugadanavi power plant with US based New Fortress Energy that dominated the headlines. It has been no secret, however, that relations between the SLPP and its main coalition partner the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) have also hit rock-bottom.

SLPP-SLFP slanging match

It was this conflict that reverberated in Parliament and beyond this week when SLFP seniors feuded openly with SLPP Ministers as they threw allegations and counter-allegations at each other while a gleeful Opposition watched on.

The SLFP had been angered by what it saw as sustained personal attacks in Parliament aimed at its Chairman and former President Maithripala Sirisena by several Government Ministers, notably by Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Rohitha Abeygunawardena. During the first day of the Committee Stage debate of the Budget on Tuesday (23), when the House debated the Heads of Expenditure of the President; Agriculture Minister Aluthgamage alleged that the then President Sirisena had spent Rs. 3.7 billion in public funds allocated to the Presidential Secretariat in a year. He compared this to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who he said had only spent Rs. 1.3 billion in his first year in office while saving Rs. 1.7 billion. Minister Aluthgamage further alleged that President Sirisena had used 200 vehicles belonging to the Presidential Secretariat while President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had used just 10.

Ports and Shipping Minister Abeygunawardena, meanwhile, claimed that though he had been allocated an official residence, President Sirisena had merged two other state houses to make a residence for himself.

The allegations themselves were not new. The same SLPP ministers and several other SLPP MPs had made them on earlier occasions. But this time, their timing was significant. Former President Sirisena had been criticising the Government publicly in recent weeks. He has been a harsh critic of the Government’s controversial decision to ban chemical fertiliser and transition to fully organic farming, telling the media that farmers were facing their “worst ever tragedy” due to the policy. Not only does Sirisena come from the rice growing constituency of Polonnaruwa, his brother is arguably the leading rice marketeer in the country.

Many SLPP MPs have never really trusted the former President anyway. After all, many in the SLPP were once members of Sirisena’s own SLFP and well remember how Sirisena, when he was General Secretary of the party, defected to the Opposition in the days leading up to the 2015 Presidential Election to run against his own Party Chairman, Mahinda Rajapaksa. The night before Sirisena defected and was announced as the Opposition’s “Common Candidate,” he had been involved in a discussion with the then President Rajapaksa at the latter’s official residence and had even partaken in a meal of hoppers. The incident has become legend in Sri Lankan politics and is still remembered bitterly by some former SLFPers who are in the SLPP’s ranks now.

It is also no secret that Sirisena has always been on good terms with Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. Mr Premadasa himself has publicly stated that while he faced many an obstacle from those within the Yahapalana Government when trying to discharge his duties when he was a minister, President Sirisena had stood by him and supported him throughout. He went on record giving the number of times the then President had offered him the premiership. Indeed, some have accused Sirisena of using Premadasa to divide the United National Party (UNP) and of covertly encouraging the latter to mount a rebellion against UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, which ultimately happened.

Given such reasons, many in the SLPP remain deeply mistrustful of Sirisena and his intentions, speculating that he is biding his time within the Government while waiting for the opportunity to mount another such betrayal.

The SLFP Parliamentary Group met on Tuesday evening to discuss the SLPP’s attacks on their leader in Parliament. It was decided that State Minister and Party General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara should make a statement in response to these allegations. On Thursday, Jayasekara asked Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena for permission to make that statement. The Speaker, however, refused the request on the grounds that former President Sirisena had responded to the allegations when they had been levelled on an earlier occasion.

“But these matters are being brought up again despite that. Ministers Aluthgamage and Abeygunawardena again raised them in Parliament though they were corrected earlier,” the SLFP General Secretary stressed. The Speaker insisted that they needed to get on with the proceedings on the day’s agenda.

It was then that the former President rose to speak. He said the 14 MPs comprising the SLFP’s Parliamentary Group had decided that their General Secretary should respond to the allegations.

“Minister Aluthgamage had claimed in this Parliament that I had merged three houses for my residence. I responded to that statement, also in this Parliament. I pledged to resign from my parliamentary seat if that claim was proved. That it has not been proved up to date shows how completely false it is,” Sirisena said.

The former President pointed out that the matter had been raised again on Tuesday when he was not in the Chamber, and it had also been alleged that he used 200 vehicles when he was President. “If I used 200 vehicles, it would take 200 days for me to go through them. That statement is completely false. I only used four vehicles during my time as President. These accusations are baseless and are just aimed at slinging mud at me.”

He further said the comparison between the heads of expenditure of President Rajapaksa and himself had been made with the aim of implying that he had wasted public funds. On the other hand, seven major projects were implemented by the Presidential Secretariat during his term,, and the expenditure reflected this.

“I am disappointed with these accusations being made repeatedly by a Government Minister as I too am a Government MP,” the former President said, adding that Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena and Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando should take note of the issue as it was “extremely unfair” for a group of Government MPs to level such personal attacks on the head of a party that was also part of the Government.

State Minister Jayasekara also attacked the ministers who made the allegations. “We can’t sit back and stay silent when the leader of our party is being attacked in this manner,” he asserted, before adding that Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage “is dancing like a peacock with his feathers out, but he should know that his backside is showing.”

Minister Aluthgamage hit back, saying he had a democratic right to compare the heads of expenditure of the two Presidents and that it was not his fault if some people got upset by the comparison.

“We don’t want to get into personal conflicts with anyone, but will hit back if someone hits us. It is not in our nature to sit there and submit to it. It doesn’t matter to us whether those people stay with us or not.”

The Agriculture Minister also took issue with the SLFP for not getting behind the Government’s fertiliser policy. He accused the former President of covertly instigating farmers to protest against the policy and using the issue to canvas support for his own party. Minister Aluthgamage, who has been the face of the Government’s disastrous fertiliser crisis, has become a much hated figure owing to the Government’s mismanagement of the crisis, leading to him having to bear the brunt of farmers’ anger. It is his effigies that are routinely beaten and burned in farmer protests.

Mr Sirisena, meanwhile, reminded the Government that its two-thirds majority rests with the 14 MPs of his party. He said the Agriculture Minister lied to the President, the Cabinet, Parliament, farmers and consumers. This was how the country’s agriculture was destroyed. “It was your behaviour and attitude that made the Government so unpopular in recent times. That is how a situation developed where they burned your effigies. In reality, you set fire to your own effigies.”

The former President also issued a cryptic warning to the Government; “If we strike, it will not be the way you talk about but in a different way.”

The spat continued on the following days as well, this time with State Minister and Polonnaruwa District SLPP MP Roshan Ranasinghe, a frequent critic of the former President, also joining in the fray and Aluthgamage continuing his attacks on Sirisena.

The attacks are another attempt by the SLPP to create issues so that its failures are relegated to the sidelines, said SLFP Vice Chairman Rohana Luxman Piyadasa. Prof. Piyadasa said he personally felt the party would have to take a decision over the attacks soon. “We can’t continue if this situation persists. I have a feeling they (SLPP) will try to lure some of our MPs into their fold while attacking us at the same time.”

He said the party’s central committee would meet to discuss the situation next week, but added party supporters on the ground had been calling for the party to leave the Government in recent weeks. “The call has been the same at every pocket meeting we have held.”

The frustration felt by supporters was justified as the SLPP has continually refused to honour commitments made in the agreement it signed with the SLFP in the lead-up to the 2019 presidential election, the SLFP Vice Chairman said. “We have been constantly subjected to step-motherly treatment in the allocation of funds for our politicians to engage in development activities. It is also noteworthy that though we are supposed to be an alliance, the SLPP has so far not held even a single meeting with coalition partners on strengthening our ties. Instead, they have only fostered division and conflict within.”

Whether the party will ultimately leave the Government is still in limbo. Many SLFP MPs are, however, known to oppose the move. They feel they would have no future by quitting the Government so early into its term, though they acknowledge the Government has become extremely unpopular with the people. The personal attacks being levelled against their Chairman however, have placed them in a difficult position. Only time will tell whether that is enough for them to give up their Government perks and privileges.

SLPP hits back

For its part, the SLPP continues to be angry at the SLFP and other coalition partners for failing to show a united front with the Government and openly challenging its policy decisions. SLPP General Secretary and MP Sagara Kariyawasam said the problems have arisen because these parties were not prepared to stand with the Government though they were also part of it.

“We are prepared to work with these parties, but we too will hit back if we are hit. That is what’s happening today,” he says.

Mr Kariyawasam noted that it was the Cabinet that decided to ban the import of chemical fertiliser. Two SLFP Ministers, Mahinda Amaraweera and Nimal Siripala de Silva, are also on that Cabinet. “If the SLFPers opposed the move, they should have raised concerns there, but instead, people like Maithripala Sirisena and Dayasiri Jayasekara openly criticise the decision. This is not right.”

The SLPP had won a mandate from the people to implement the manifesto of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. “We have no conflict with the SLFP, Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila or anyone else within the Government. But they have a duty to support Government policy. If they refuse to do that, then there is no point in them being in the Government.”

Govt.’s fertiliser policy reversal

Opposition MPs, meanwhile, have pointed out that the public spat between the SLPP and the SLFP has overshadowed yet another humiliating reversal for the Government when it announced it was going back on its policy of implementing a complete ban on chemical fertiliser.

The ban had been enacted after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on April 26 presented a Cabinet paper on promoting green agriculture and banning the importation of chemical fertiliser, pesticides and weedicides. Addressing the post-Cabinet news briefing on Wednesday, Mr Aluthgamage said the Government had decided to revoke the gazette notification on this import ban as it was a Government that was “sensitive to the views of the people.” The ban had been in effect for seven months and elicited hundreds of protests by farmers throughout the island.

While the importation ban would be revoked, the Government’s policy on green economy has not changed, he claimed. The private sector would be allowed to import chemical fertiliser, pesticides and weedicides. The Government, though, will continue to promote organic farming and will provide subsidies only to those who follow such practices. This means that the fertiliser subsidy that Governments have been giving to farmers for decades will stop for those using chemical fertiliser. Those using chemicals will also not be eligible for other benefits such as being given seeds to plant and having a guaranteed price for paddy. A mechanism to regulate the use of chemical fertiliser will soon be drawn up, Aluthgamage told the media.

Confusion, however, continues to surround the revoking of the import ban. The gazette related to it had not been issued even up until yesterday. Private importers, meanwhile, had said they would not be able to import chemical fertiliser and pesticides immediately due to the foreign exchange crisis the country is undergoing. With the Maha Season already in full swing and farmers continuing to experience paralysing fertiliser shortages, the clock is ticking fast.

National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake saw the whole saga as a roundabout way for the Government to go back on the promise made by the Government of providing free fertiliser to farmers while allowing private companies to import agrochemicals and fertiliser to sell at high prices. “On May 6, the Government issued a gazette banning all chemicals in agriculture. A while later, it announced that urea fertiliser would be issued for the planting of tea, rubber and coconut. It now says urea can be imported but only by the private sector. So, the Government imports organic fertiliser while the private sector imports urea. What happens when these competitive fertilisers go to the market? Farmers will inevitably choose urea. It raises suspicions whether all this was an exercise to do away with the concept of providing free fertiliser to farmers that you pledged to do during the presidential election,” he told Government benches in Parliament.

The decision to reverse the importation ban also came as Pesticides Registrar Dr J.A. Sumith issued a gazette of his own on Monday revoking a ban on the sale and use of Glyphosate and four other agrochemicals. The ban had been in effect since December, 2014. Dr Sumith’s gazette claimed that the decision had been taken “in the interest of the public and on the advice of the Pesticide Technical and Advisory Committee.”

Minister Aluthgamage, however, said the following day that the Registrar of Pesticides had issued the gazette “illegally” and that it would be revoked. He further announced that the official would be removed from his post and disciplinary action taken against him. He said the ban on Glyphosate and other agrochemicals remain in place. Earlier, the minister also accused the Registrar of Pesticides of attempting to push the case of one particular company regarding the importation of chemical pesticides and said a separate inquiry was already ongoing in this regard.

Dr Sumith then responded that the gazette had been revoked after approval from the Legal Draftsman’s Department. When the Sunday Times contacted him, however, he said he could not provide further clarification and that it had to come from the Agriculture Ministry, hinting that he had now been gagged from speaking to the media.

Agriculture Ministry sources said an inquiry into Dr Sumith was currently ongoing and the report is expected to be handed over “soon”. It was only last week that all public servants were warned from criticizing the Government on social media platforms saying there were increasing number of them doing so.

Meanwhile, SLFP National Organiser and State Minister Duminda Dissanayake continued his party’s criticism of the fertiliser policy outside Parliament. Addressing a group of farmers during a function in his constituency of Anuradhapura, he urged them to put their anger aside and cultivate their fields considering the plight faced by the people if they chose to step back from farming over the fertiliser shortage.

He said the Government must take the blame for the crisis. “We all want to go for organic farming, but we didn’t devise a proper system for it first. Our problem is not with organic fertiliser. If they give us an alternative on time, we are prepared to experiment with it. If we believe that the Government will compensate the farmers if our harvest turns out be less than usual, then the farmers’ won’t have any issues.”

He said farmers had become fearful about farming in the face of the abrupt policy shift because the Government had failed in communicating its programme to the people. “Now, we are still waiting for this nano-urea fertiliser. But even that, as far as I know, has to reach our farmers in Anuradhapura by November 30. I have told the Government that if this did not happen, we will be in big trouble,” he remarked.

A former Agriculture Minister, Dissanayake urged farmers to go and cultivate their fields for now and ask the Government to provide compensation if their crops suffered losses. “We can’t go back now. We have to go with this now, whether it’s right or wrong. If not, the people will go hungry.”

Yugadanavi crisis

As the fertiliser crisis drags on, Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya this week appointed a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court to hear Fundamental Rights petitions filed against the Yugadanavi plant agreement. The case will be taken up tomorrow. The bench will consist of Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Buwaneka Aluvihare, Priyantha Jayawardena, Vijith Malalgoda and L.T.B. Dehideniya.

Petitions against the agreement have been filed by Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thera, Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, and former Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MPs Sunil Handunnetti and Wasantha Samarasinghe.

The Attorney General will appear for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers during the trial, except for three ministers, namely Vasudewa Nanayakkara, Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila. In a sign that the three ministers hold a position different to that of the rest of the Cabinet, they have retained private counsel for the case. The trio will be represented by Uditha Igalahewa, PC.

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) unions have also announced trade union action against the deal. The CEB Engineers’ Union this week stated that it had launched a “work to rule” campaign over the issue. The union warned that it would resort to more stringent trade union action if the agreement went ahead.

SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, though, insisted that the agreement was the best option for the country to avert an impending power crisis. “We are lucky that we have had rain for many days these past few weeks as otherwise, we could have had daily power cuts lasting several hours. The Yugadanavi agreement is the best and cheapest option to prevent such a crisis in the coming months if the rains stop.”

He was critical of Government coalition partners for opposing the deal, stating that their opposition also helped scupper the deal on Colombo Port’s East Container Terminal (ECT) with India.

Originally, the Government stood to have 51% to 49% stake in its favour in the ECT deal. But that was scrapped due to protests, he noted. “We also lost an initial investment of nearly USD 800 million due to that. Now, we have the ECT but it remains undeveloped because we have no capital to invest. India’s Adani Group will retain an 80% stake in the West Container Terminal (WCT) while the Government will only get 20%. So, they will reap much of the benefits once it is developed. How can the country develop when such things happen?” he queried.

As the country heads into the final month of the year, the economic situation continues to worsen. The daily cost of living continues on an upward trend. Ordinary folks are forced to cut on their food intakes. Vegetable prices have risen steeply due to a drop in production, fuelled by damage to crops due to adverse weather and fertiliser shortages. Despite Government claims to the contrary, real fears are emerging of food shortages early next year if the fertiliser shortages persist. At a time of such abject misery, the public expects the Government to remain steady and guide the country out of troubled waters. The ship, however, has too many captains steering its wheel in different directions, making it veer off course and head towards the rocks.