5th Column

My dear SWRD,

I thought of writing to you this week though it has been many decades since you left us for the Land of Never Return. That is because your birth anniversary was commemorated last week – and you would be turning in your final resting place, the Horagolla Samadhi, if you knew what happened then.

To begin with, there is a curious coincidence regarding your birthday. It was on the same day, seven years ago, that Aiyo Sirisena defeated Mahinda maama unexpectedly with the help of the Greens, and began what he promised would be an era of ‘yahapaalanaya’.

What most of us didn’t know at that time was that the chap who took charge on the day of your birthday was beginning a term of office that would end with the death of the Party you founded. That is indeed what has happened, and there was more of that on display at your commemoration last week.

SWRD, you would know that, after you left us and when Mrs B was in charge, the day of your passing, September 26, was commemorated in style. It was a national public holiday and the ceremonies of Ms B and others laying flowers at the Horagolla Samadhi were broadcast live.

All that was done away with when JR and his Greens took charge. Satellite, to her credit, didn’t revert to such aggrandising behaviour when she took over some 17 years later, although she did rename our airport in your honour because JR had scrapped that too, calling it ‘Colombo Airport’.

Despite all this, your commemoration was a time when the Blue faithful came together, remembered your legacy and pledged to continue what you had begun. I am so sorry to tell you, SWRD, if this year’s ceremony was anything to go by, that tradition too has now become a thing of the past.

We saw Satellite and Sunethra come very early in the morning and attend the ceremony. They were in very unusual company. Seated next to them was Kumar, the Prince of Kalutara, a former faithful servant of the Blue Party, now elected on the ‘telephone’ ticket but still calling himself a SLFPer!

Then comes Susil, who was kicked out by Gota maama from his post as a State minister recently.  Kumar has always been critical of Gota maama though he still retains a soft spot for Mahinda maama and was with the ‘pohottuwa’ briefly. Susil on the other hand was there only because he was sacked.

Both Kumar and Susil were critical of the new Royal family, the ‘R’ family. Kumar even went to the extent of questioning the sanity of Presidents past and present. Satellite could only smile, probably thinking that in politics there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests.

What was more curious was that when Satellite and the others concluded their ceremony, everyone left and even the blue flags were taken down. Then, hey presto, Aiyo Sirisena makes a sudden appearance with his entourage from the Blue Party including ageing Nimal and young Dayasiri.

Isn’t it sad, SWRD, that the Blue Party you founded is so hopelessly divided now, so much so that the man Satellite chose to run against Mahinda maama, Aiyo Sirisena is playing hide and seek with her, not daring to face her in public, fearing he would get a tongue lashing from her in public?

The end result of all this is that the Blue Party is dead in all but name now, except for a few hangers on who are clinging on to Aiyo Sirisena because they have no other choice. The reality is, the Blue Party has been replaced by the Maroon party and the ‘B’ family has been replaced by the ‘R’ family.

After you left us, the Blue Party became a family business. By the mid-70s, we had an airport, a conference hall and a public holiday named after you, along with a large ‘B’ family tree. The Greens and JR used this cleverly just before the election in 1977 to show the extent of nepotism at the time.

50 years later, the only change is that, instead of the ‘B’s, we now have the ‘R’s. We have a port, conference hall and stadium named after the ‘Rs’ in Hambantota not to mention a theatre in Colombo. With five ‘R’s in the Cabinet, what we have now is not a family tree but a huge family forest!

It is a pity, SWRD, that your legacy to the nation should end this way. The ‘B’ dynasty has no hope of continuing. The Blue Party and the Green Party which you broke away from are spent forces. So, no matter how unpopular the ‘pohottuwa’ is, for some time at least, it looks we will all be ‘marooned’!

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: We know that, despite all that is happening, the ‘R’s never retire and want to stay on for as long as they can. The story was that the only ‘R’ who got out as soon as he came in was Bhanuka, the cricketer. Well, guess what, this week he too withdrew his resignation, saying he wants to return!