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During his first trip to the North this week after officially assuming duties recently, Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha visited a variety of places that constitute significant cultural, and religious values between the two countries, in addition to visiting India-funded projects in the province.

Among the |places the High Commissioner visited are the Kankesanthurai (KKS) Port, the Palaly Airport, and the hybrid power project in Nainathivu. In Mannar, the High Commissioner met local fishermen who complained that Indian fishermen were taking their catch from the Gulf of Mannar waters. The envoy handed over deep freezers as livelihood support to the community.

The Indian High Commission team led by new High Commissioner Santosh Jha holding a pooja on the second shoal in the Adam's Bridge area

While in Mannar, High Commissioner Jha undertook a ferry trip to witness the chain of sand shoals along Adam’s Bridge known as ‘Ram Sethu’ in India in the Palk Strait. It lies between Pamban in the southern tip of Tamil Nadu and Mannar. The High Commissioner was accompanied by his wife, officials attached to the Indian Consulate in Jaffna, and a Hindu priest.

The group landed on the second shoal—which comes under
Sri Lankan territorial waters—to conduct a Hindu pooja. According to the Hindu epic Ramayan, Shri Ram’s army
built a causeway to invade the island to rescue his wife Sita from King Ravana.

With the slogan “Shri Ram” popular in India these days with the recent opening of the Ram Mandir temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, and moves underway to revive talks on setting up land connectivity between the two
countries, the significance of the envoy’s visit was not to be ignored, according to political analysts.

Change of police division: Kataragama residents say they will have to travel 67km to court

A circular issued by Acting Inspector General Deshabandu Tennakoon to remove the Kataragama Police from the Tangalle Police Division (PD) and bring it under the Monaragala Police Division has caused an uproar among people in Kataragama.

The Acting IGP’s circular on delimitation of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) divisions based on administrative district boundaries recently removed the Kataragama Police from the Tangalle PD. Kataragama residents say the decision to bring it under the Monaragala PD will heap enormous hardships on them. For example, they note that currently, they have to travel 17 kilometres to the Tissamaharama Magistrate’s Court for legal matters, given that the Kataragama Police is under the Tangalle PD. However, if this is shifted to the Monaragala PD, they would have to travel 67 kilometres to the Monaragala Magistrate’s Court.

Villagers point out that this would mean they have to leave home at around 4 a.m. and travel along roads frequented by wild
elephants at that time to be at the Monaragala Magistrate’s Court for cases. They note that they will also be forced to go all the way to the Monaragala Police in the event of a traffic fine or a sudden death.

The Kataragama Shasanarakshaka Bala Mandalaya, led by Kirivehera Chief Incumbent Ven. Kobawaka Dhamminda Thera, has already written to the President expressing their displeasure over the move to remove the Kataragama Police from the Tangalle PD.

Minister and state minister on collison course over Badulla roads

A heated exchange of words took place between Highways Minister Bandula Gunawardana and Primary Industries State Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake during the Badulla District Coordination Committee meeting at the Badulla District Secretariat.

The meeting, which was attended by Minister Gunawardana and MPs from the district, grew into a heated debate over the development of roads in the district. Mr. Dassanayake claimed he had spoken to an official about the stalled development of several roads in Badulla. Mr. Gunawardana responded that instead of speaking to officials, the State Minister should have directly reached out to him (the minister) and he could have convened a meeting of the relevant officials to ask what the problem was.

Mr. Dassanayake, who is known for his quick temper, responded angrily, saying that despite being the district most affected by landslides, it was being given stepmotherly treatment in comparison to other districts when it came to allocations and agreements for road development. He insisted that the district be given more priority by the government.

Minister Gunawardana shot back, saying that the Treasury did not have such funds to release even if everyone in the room stood on their heads to demand it.

State Minister Dassanayake responded, saying things were being unevenly distributed depending on who held the presidency. “When a president is elected from Polonnaruwa, a lot of development happens there. It is the same when one is elected from Hambantota and also from Gampaha,” he said. The references were clear as clear can be.

SLPP Gen. Sec. says its last-minute candidate will win the race

Talk of abolishing the controversial executive presidency has again surfaced in the lead-up to this year’s presidential election.

While there has been no official statement from President Ranil Wickremesinghe revealing any move to abolish the system before the coming presidential poll, it hasn’t stopped various political parties from expressing their views for or against its abolition.

When questioned over the move, ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said the SLPP supported the abolition of the executive presidency but insisted that as the main coalition party of the government, President Wickremesinghe should first reach out to the SLPP and explain what he intended to do. He also stressed that the SLPP would insist on strengthening the powers of the Prime Minister if the executive presidency was to be abolished.

Moreover, he said the SLPP also wanted a new electoral system to be introduced prior to abolishing the executive presidency to ensure that whichever party won the parliamentary election, it should be able to form a strong government. “If we were to abolish the executive presidency and hold a parliamentary election under the current, weak electoral system, it would take the country towards anarchy and allow smaller parties to play kingmaker roles. We will not support any abolition of the executive presidency without electoral reforms, as we don’t want a weak government that bends to the whims and fancies of others.”

He also dismissed claims that the SLPP was unwilling to field a candidate for the presidential election over fears of a humiliating defeat. “Many people have already started their campaigns and are claiming they will be the candidate from their party. We are not like that. We will present our candidate at the last minute,” he said.

Mr. Kariyawasam said recent history had shown that the candidate who was fielded late in the race had gone on to win the election. “This is true from Chandrika to Sirisena to Gotabaya. In the case of Gotabaya, though people had said the SLPP would field him, we only officially made him a candidate late in the race. We will field the best person at the last moment, and we expect him to win handsomely,” the SLPP General Secretary said very confidently.

Firecrackers in Kalpitiya to mark interdiction of OIC

People from fishing and farming communities in the Kalpitiya Police Division lit firecrackers on Thursday evening after media reports came in that the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Kalpitiya Police had been interdicted.

The OIC was earlier arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a woman police constable. He was subsequently released on bail. Police Headquarters, however, interdicted him pending an investigation into the alleged incident.

Area residents alleged that the OIC was widely unpopular in the area and that the spontaneous lighting of firecrackers when news came that he had been interdicted showed the pressure they had been under. They described the act as a release of their pent-up anger and frustration.

Sudden interest in Vijaya raises political questions

The 36th death anniversary of popular actor and politician Vijaya Kumaratunga was marked on Friday (16). Mr. Kumaratunga continues to be fondly remembered and mourned by the people, more than three and a half decades after his assassination.

A notable difference this year, though, is that there seems to be far more coverage of the assassinated actor and politician than in previous years. There have been multiple programmes on his life and death, live studio discussions, media conferences, documentaries, and panel discussions in the broadcast media, especially in the state media.

It is unclear if the sudden interest in Mr. Kumaratunga’s life and untimely death has anything to do with the upcoming presidential election and whether interested parties are trying to unearth ghosts from the past for their own political ends.

Rajiv Gandhi case convict gets passport to visit elderly mother in Lanka

In Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commission issued a temporary passport for Thillaiampalam Suthenthirarajah, alias Shanthan, one of the released convicts in the assassination case of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The temporary passport is valid until August 1.

Addressed to the Public Department of the Tamil Nadu Secretariat following a request by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the letter is issued to facilitate the deportation of Shanthan to his home country, Sri Lanka, due to his deteriorating health condition. He is currently under detention at the Special (Detention) camp in Trichy, awaiting deportation.

Shanthan and six others were convicted for the assassination of former Congress Party Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and were released in 2022 after serving decades in prison. Shanthan expressed his last hope of returning home to be reunited with his elderly mother in Jaffna.