5th Column

My dear Imthiaz,

I am writing to you after I heard that you had written to your leader Sajith suggesting a series of measures to improve the ‘telephone’ party following its disastrous performances at the last two elections. I thought at least I would reply, as the chances of Sajith replying your letter are quite slim.

The ‘telephone’ party has recently been in the news for all the wrong reasons. It achieved the unique feat of being the major opposition party in the last Parliament and watching idly while the government became immensely unpopular and a much smaller party grabbed that opportunity and came to power.

That must have hurt you a lot because you sacrificed so much to leave the Green party and join Sajith and his new party. You were one of those ‘kepuwath kola paata’ types, joining the Green party as a student leader. Your father was a staunch member of that party, rising to become Speaker.

You must have thought that you were making progress when you were appointed as ‘Chairman’ of the ‘telephone’ party. You can be excused for believing that your predecessor, the Field Marshal, was forced to leave. He wasn’t the best at public relations and was more of a problem than a solution. 

What you probably didn’t bargain for, was the way the ‘telephone’ party is being run. Others, however, had noticed and couldn’t take it anymore. That is why seniors such as Rajitha and Thalatha left even though they probably knew that their chances of re-election were less on the ‘gas cylinder’ ticket.

You must have also thought that you were given a very good deal because, as Chairman, you were accommodated on the National List, as was Ranjith as Secretary. You could be pardoned for thinking that your inclusion in the next Parliament was guaranteed. After all, who could ignore the Chairman?

As it turned out, Sajith can. What you – and many others – did not know was that he had promised several ‘partner’ parties in your alliance their slots on the National List. That is why wily Rauff took Sajith to court to compel him to keep that promise. Unfortunately, that came at your expense!

What must be heartbreaking for you is that, if you weren’t given a ‘guaranteed’ slot on the National List, you would have contested from Kalutara on the telephone party ticket and most probably won because you were obviously more popular than the two who were elected, Ajith and Jagath.

Still, your letter to Sajith was not about your plight. Unlike some others, you didn’t also make noises about how suitable you are for the single National List slot that Sajith was left with. Your letter was about how you thought the ‘telephone party’ should be run. I thought it made very interesting reading.

You ask for internal democracy within the ‘telephone’ party. You want people to progress through the ranks of the party and make it to the top, instead of having their path obstructed by ‘parachutists’. You want regular party meetings. You also want the party to have clear policies and to speak as one.

What makes your requests so interesting, Imthiaz, is not what you are saying. It is what you are not saying. By your requests, you imply that the telephone party has no internal democracy, favours parachutists over regular members, does not meet regularly, has no clear policy and is not united.

In other words, what you are saying is that the ‘telephone’ party has now become just like the Green party which you left because of the same reasons. So, I’m sure Sajith’s response to your letter will be the same as his response to Anura’s invitation for a public debate: he will act as if he didn’t receive it.

If you recall what happened a dozen years ago, Sajith (with Karu and Dayasiri helping him), challenged Uncle Ranil’s leadership. He claimed that, having lost two general elections and two presidential elections, Uncle Ranil should step down. Sajith faces exactly the same situation now.

Sajith’s team lost that leadership battle to Uncle Ranil though he became deputy leader. Still, he learnt an important lesson from Uncle Ranil: never give up the party leadership, no matter how many elections you lose. So, Imthiaz, this is exactly what he is putting into practise today.

It took Sajith seven more years to realise that Uncle Ranil will never make way for him and that he should form his own party. I daresay that you and others in the ‘telephone’ party face the same plight now. That is why you must decide what you will do when your letter is met with deafening silence.

I hope you have thought about all this, Imthiaz. I am sure there are others who feel the same way in the ‘telephone’ party. The question is whether they will have the backbone to stand up and be counted. As for you, at the age of 71, you don’t have much of a choice: it is now or never.

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: Sajith may not have the sophistication of Uncle Ranil but he appears to be copying some of the tactics of his mentor. So, I won’t be surprised if, after reading your letter, he appoints a committee to review its contents and make recommendations – and then waits quietly until everyone forgets about it!