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| Sunday, 09 April 2006 |
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Sunday Observations:
The Political Column - SLFP is taken over by the President; some others grin and bear it This is the week that definitely made President Rajapakse, numero uno, undisputed. He is now, effectively, the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party with effect from Friday. One may ask how that could be? He took over the acting Chairman's post, in the absence of the temperamental Chandrika Kumaratunge. The Central Committee had approved the decision to make Rajapakse the leader, and the executive committee of the party they mustered the votes to endorse the decision. Its therefore a fait accompli. But, the President desisted, saying he wouldn't want to take over the party leadership when Kumaratunge was out recharging her batteries in London. He didn't want it to look too much like a palace coup. But the President's ascension to the party leadership has been an imperative since the Municipal election victory, and the announcement of polling for the rest of the local bodies such as Colombo.Fool's day.. It said the JVP was planning to pull out from the government (c). The newspaper later said it was only meant as a joke. But when the JVP politburo met last week, a pull out was never a concern. A party source told this writer the Marxists wish to continue in the working alliance with the government, albeit aware that they should do it keeping identity intact. Similar to the fears in the SLFP ranks that the party would be swallowed up by an increasingly powerful JVP, the Marxists fear the opposite. Hence the politburo decided on three key issues for the future action plan despite party's support for the President. The first is a stepped up campaign against the Norwegian facilitation. The second is a campaign for a salary hike. And the third is the protest campaign for the reinstatement of 1600 Prima employees who were sacked by the company after union action. Whatever they would say in public, the JVP leadership is aware that the party could not live up to its expectations in the local government polls. The politburo had embarked on a post mortem on the performance of the party in the mini polls. One stunning revelation is that the Marxists didn't have any role to play when the SLFP candidates embraced the Mahinda Chinthana. It is not that Rajapakse vision is invincible. But it was only a few months ago that the red comrades applauded the same document and put their weight behind Mr Rajapakse then contesting the Presidency. So the red comrades found to their dismay that they could not challenge it in the village . They could only grin and bear while SLFP contenders were having an easy ride to victory. While the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse has focused full attention towards the path of peace to restore normalcy in the land, the main opposition United National Party has turned into a battle field with internal battles going public these days. UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has been challenged by cross over Mahinda Wijesekere. The senior most parliamentarian in the party, Mohamed Haniffa Mohamed, the Colombo district leader has been drawn into a fierce battle by Mohamed Maharoof who represents Colombo Central. This battle is now known as the 'Battle of the Mohameds'. Maharoof is also involved in a battle with an 'legal eagle' over a cheque. The lawyer in question is Iqbal Mohamed. He has demanded Rs. 250 million as damages from Maharoof for trying to defame him. The UNP has never plunged into such a crisis in its history. The recent defeat at the local government election has given way for certain rebels in the party to mount pressure on Wickremesinghe. Some are demanding his ouster from the leadership. Among them in the lead is Mahinda Wijesekere. He has labelled Wickremesinghe as a product that cannot be marketed at future elections. Never in the history of the UNP, has a leader been brought to disrepute in this manner. Senior party men say that Wickremesinghe should put his foot down firmly to deal with people like Wijesekere if party discipline is to be upheld.National Organiser, S.B.Dissanayake abandoned the election campaign and left overseas after writing a letter to Wickremesinghe.He demanded that he be appointed as an MP on the National List and if not he would not continue the campaign. Even before Wickremesinghe could respond to his letter, Dissanayake took wing to Australia. The deterioration in the discipline of the UNP is quite visible. Following the publicity given in the press to the Muncipal lists affair, Maharoof issued a statement to the media claiming that it was undated cheque issued to lawyer Iqbal Mohamed in 2003 over a payment of legal fees if some cases were won for him. He further stated that the cases were lost but the lawyer never returned the cheque. In his statement, Maharoof alleged that the lawyer, Sanghadasa and one of his ex-employees had conspired to sling mud at him by using this undated cheque. Following the publicity given to Maharoof's statement, Attorney-at- Law, Iqbal Mohamed's lawyers issued a Letter of Demand to Maharoof claiming the allegation was false, defamatory and baseless and sought Rs. 250 million as damages. SB Dissanayake's brief history in the UNP is quite interesting. Having fallen out with former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, SB crossed over . He, then identified Ranil as the best leader. SB vouched to give up politics, the day Ranil Wickremesinghe decided to quit politics. After five years, SB has become a bitter critic of Ranil and the leadership pattern of Ranil. He has called for urgent reforms in the party claiming that Ranil's leadership was questionable in politics. |
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