Shocked by the news of the explosion at the Dalada Maligawa, President Kumaratunga, wanted to speak to the Mahanayake.
Temple Trees aides tried hard to reach the Asgiri Mahanayake, Most Ven. Palipane Sri Chandananda. He was not available at the Asgiri Vihare, he was at the Maligawa.
They telephoned the cell phone number of the Diyawadana Nilame, Neranjan Wijeyaratne. The battery low warning was coming on the phone but he managed to give the number of another person standing close by.
After the aides connected the line, the Mahanayake Thera told the President that it would be most useful if she would come and see what has happened instead of making a telephone call. She said she had already despatched a senior Cabinet Minister.
But the prelate pointed out that on one occasion President Premadasa had telephoned him from the deep south late at night when he learnt of a problem concerning the Maligawa. He had offered to come over in the night itself but the prelate had advised him against. He had arrived there early next morning.
President Kumaratunga not only flew in (also from the south after an official function) but offered immediate Government assistance for restoration and rehabilitation work.
There was a time when driver training schools gave key tags with different colours to those who went before examiners for driving tests.
Green meant the applicant had paid not only for the training but also for the licence which included a ”Santhosam” for the examiner. Red meant he had only paid to learn driving and the latter failed in the test.
Now comes the police version. If the complainant does not decipher what it means, it is his bad luck.
Here is how a City resident learnt of it. She lost her Passport and accompanied by a former Ministry Secretary went to make an entry and obtain a certified copy before making a new application. At the Station the OIC said “Madam, Blue Label.” It took her some discreet inquiries to realize what it meant. The OIC had wanted a bottle of Blue Label Arrack. Luckily, it was not Blue Label Whisky. The lady would have turned blue.
Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgarmar, promptly heeded the Prime Minister’s call to observe Saturday as a day of mourning over the Maligawa bomb. He cancelled a dinner for media personnel at Taj Samudra. Invited to attend the dinner, among others were all the Editors about whom Attorney General Sarath Silva gave unsolicited advice some months ago to the President saying they must not be invited for state dinners hosted by Minister Kadirgamar.
His ruling was that Editors who he thought were supporters of the Opposition, should not be invited by the Minister. He was silent above Justice Minister G.L Peiris, Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera and all other Ministers inviting the same Editors.
Though it was not contempt of court, the free advice the AG offered seems to have gone unheeded.
The question now is this. Will the AG do an SB on the Foreign Office by returning all briefs and/or refusing to tender solicited advice?
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