Dayasiri meets former UNP colleagues

Former Kurunegala District UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera came to Parliament on Thursday for the first time since he resigned as parliamentarian to join the UPFA to contest the recent North Western Provincial Council elections.

Having polled a record number of 336,327 preferential votes and becoming the Chief Minister of the North Western Province, Dayasiri came to the Parliament to witness the 2014 Budget speech delivered by his new leader - President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

But when Dayasiri was coming down the Parliament lift after the President had concluded his Budget proposals for 2014, he met his old UNP Parliament colleagues in the third floor of the House. Among them were UNP parliamentarians Dr. Harsha de Silva, Palitha Range Bandara, Dilip Wedarachchi and UNP media spokesman and Galle District MP Gayantha Karunatillake.

Amidst rumours that Gayantha may follow Dayasiri to become the ruling party's chief ministerial candidate for the next Southern Provincial Council elections, Dayasiri got caught to the four UNP MPs who fired various questions at their former UNP colleague. But Dayasiri was in a hurry to rush back from Parliament. "Why are you in such a hurry? This is not an unfamiliar place to you. Let's talk about the budget," the UNP MPs told Dayasiri.

Harsha, Gayantha, Range Bandara and Dilip asked various questions from the new Chief Minister of Wayamba who greeted them with his usual smile. Perhaps, the four MPs must be regretting that the UNP lost its most popular parliamentarian.

Putin's call to President Rajapaksa

President Mahinda Rajapaksa took over the chairmanship of the Commonwealth during last weekend's CHOGM 2013 held in Colombo. It was a great honour to Sri Lanka as well as to the great political leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The CHOGM 2013 was a resounding success and many world leaders commended exemplary manner in which Sri Lanka hosted the 53-nation event - the largest to be held in Sri Lanka after the 1976 Non-Aligned Summit under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned his Sri Lankan counterpart on Thursday evening to congratulate President Rajapaksa on the assumption of the Commonwealth Chair in Office.

President Putin also reiterated his government's desire to continue the strong bilateral relations with Colombo.

Australian PM shows his stamina

Out of all the Commonwealth Heads of State who attended the recent CHOGM 2013 in Colombo, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott won the hearts of all Sri Lankans for his positive remarks on the host country. Although his Australian counterpart David Cameron caught media attention for his controversial remarks and setting deadlines, Abbott looked pretty impressive on the latest developments in Sri Lanka.

The Australian premier indicated that he needs a long jog to maintain his physical fitness during his stay in Colombo. When he indicated this to Hambantota District parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, the captain of the Sri Lanka rugby team volunteered to join the Australian Prime Minister in the jog. Namal also invited Army Commander Daya Ratnayake, immediate past President of the Sri Lanka Athletic Association to join them in the Saturday morning jogging.

It was the most appropriate day as it was the day reserved for the Commonwealth Heads of State retreat at the Waters Edge, following Friday's opening ceremony of CHOGM 2013. Accordingly, Namal and the Army Commander arrived at Cinnamon Lakeside well before 6 a.m. Though Abbott's security men initially advised against the jog, the Australian Prime Minister said he will be in the safe hands of Sri Lanka Army as none other than the Commander will be accompanying him.

They walked along the Old Parliament / Presidential Secretariat to Galle Face Green. After a few rounds around Galle Face Green, they proceeded along Chaithya Road what leads to the Colombo Port. Prime Minister Abbott climbed to the top of the 12-storeyed chaithya and returned in minutes, proving his physical fitness.

Then the Australian Prime Minister, Namal, Daya and their security personnel jogged along the new 6km breakwater built through the Colombo port. The Army Commander had to take a small break in between as he has been carrying an old leg injury in the battlefront. After quick medical attention, he joined the rest. Abbott inquired about the Commander's injury and Daya explained how he was injured due to terrorist attack on three occasions.

Abbott was impressed by the cleanliness in the Colombo City. He also showed a keen interest to find out about the tourism in Sri Lanka and the standards of local rugby football. Namal gave a comprehensive overview on all those areas in which the Australian leader had shown a keen interest. They returned to Cinnamon Lakeside in an hour's time, covering a distance of 14km.

Viper in Ranil's room

It seems that the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe not only has to face vicious characters within his own party but also vicious reptiles in his own room in the Parliament.

A viper was found inside the Parliament office of UNP Leader on Thursday, the day on which 2014 Budget was presented by President Rajapaksa. The snake was later removed from the premises.

The UNP had to face a stiff resistance from Bhikkus and that ultimately led to a free-for-all in the previous week. But some UNP leaders, including parliamentarians Ravi Karunanayake and Daya Gamage, tendered an open apology to the Maha Sanga for the unfortunate incidents. But some reports said that they have not obtained permission from the party leader to tender an official apology.

The UNP said on Tuesday that it would investigate the alleged assault on some Buddhist monks by UNP supporters during a protest carried out by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Organisation outside Sirikotha on November 14. Parliamentarian and Leadership Council Member Ravi Karunanayake assured BBS representatives who gathered outside Sirikotha that the UNP would carry out an inquiry into the incident.

Ravi said the UNP regretted what happened and said the BBS would be invited for a dialogue with the UNP Leadership Council. During the protest rally the BBS demanded that UNP members should be arrested for betraying the motherland.

Meanwhile, the UNP Leadership Council last week decided to stop the ongoing disciplinary inquiries against UNP parliamentarians Palitha Range Bandara and Ashok Abeysinghe.

UNP media spokesman Gayantha Karunathilake has said that the newly formed UNP Leadership Council had also decided to reappoint them in their previous positions as organisers in their respective electorates.

Karu's surprise illness

It was reported that the newly appointed Chairman of the UNP Leadership Council had taken ill on the eve of the council's inaugural meeting. Karu was admitted to Lanka Hospital claming that he was suffering from dengue fever.

But most the UNP seniors who visited Karu at the hospital were doubtful whether Karu was actually ill or trying to evade the UNP Leadership Council meeting. They had genuine reasons to believe so. Though it appeared that Karu was given saline, his behavior gave a different impression as he talked freely with the visitors and appeared to be normal.

But when a senior party member and a UNP parliamentarian for Kandy District visited the hospital, he was able to have a frank chat with Karu who had been alone at that time.

Unconfirmed reports said that Karu had broken down in front of the senior UNP MP and told that he is utterly disgusted and is unable to face the people. He has said that the Leadership Council chairmanship is a headache as it is a title without any powers and that he has no answers to the questions that are raised by the party supporters.

He had alleged that none of the party documents come to him as Tissa is sending them directly to the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. Karu had raised doubts whether he is being used by the UNP leadership.

Having given a patient hearing to Karu's self confession, the UNP parliamentarian had advised that keeping mum would not do any good either to Karu or to the party.

Gota in Vatican

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa met Pope Francis in Vatican last week and invited the Pope to visit Sri Lanka next year. The Defence Secretary told the Pope that Sri Lanka was keen to explore further avenues to strengthen and consolidate relations between the pontiff and Sri Lanka.

His Holiness Pope Francis received the Defence Secretary at an audience in the Vatican on Wednesday. Gotabaya who visited the Vatican as the special envoy of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, conveyed to Pope Francis an invitation from the President to visit Sri Lanka in the near future.

During his visit, the Secretary also paid courtesy calls on dignitaries of the Vatican City State. Gotabaya appreciated efforts by the Holy See to promote world peace, disarmament, interfaith dialogue and dialogue among civilisations.

He said that as a nation that has been blessed with a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural social fabric, and more importantly as a country that was coming out of a long period of conflict, Sri Lanka valued the strength that comes from the unity of the diverse communities in Sri Lanka. After almost thirty years of suffering, Sri Lanka had embarked upon a new era of development and reconciliation for its people and looked upon the international community for encouragement and support.

He said that Sri Lanka was keen to explore further avenues to strengthen and consolidate relations between the Holy See and Sri Lanka.

President presents his ninth budget

Sri Lanka will aim for more than 7.5 percent annual economic growth in the next three years, President Rajapaksa told the Parliament on Thursday. Presenting the 2014 Budget - the ninth in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, the President said that the Central Bank expects growth of 7.2 percent this year. The International Monetary Fund has forecast 6.5 percent growth this year and again in 2014.

The budget also had many proposals to stimulate growth and attract foreign investments while providing relief to the vulnerable sections of the population.

The budget for the financial year 2014 proposed an increase in the Cost of Living allowance by Rs 1,200 to all public servants from January 2014. The Cost of Living payment will be increased by Rs 600 for pensioners who retired before 2006 and- by Rs 400 for others.

The President also proposed the implementation of a pension scheme to provide a minimum of Rs 1,250 monthly for farmers over 63 years of age from January. He added that it is proposed to use the proceeds of the Govi Setha lottery along with a capital contribution of Rs 1,000 million. He also added that a monthly allowance of Rs 7,500 will be granted to the veterinarians to strengthen the dairy, livestock and poultry industries.

The President also proposed to increase the annual Uniform Allowance for nurses, family health workers and other staff by a further Rs 500 to Rs. 1,500 and the on-call duty allowance for paramedical staff by Rs 150 per month and the Risk Allowance by Rs 50 to 100 for those eligible.

UNP, JVP boycott Budget 2014

The UNP and the JVP boycotted Thursday's budget speech. UNP sources said the party boycotted the budget speech while JVP MP Vijitha Herath pointed out that the budget speech would be full of promises.

"Therefore we have decided to stay away from the budget speech but we will participate in the budget debate and highlight the issues that affect the masses," Herath said.

But most of the Ranil loyalists assembled in the Opposition Leader's office in the Parliament and followed the live television feed that showed the President presenting the Budget 2014. Some of them jotted down vital points while some casted remarks to get into the good books of the UNP leader.

UNP parliamentarian Harsha de Silva praised Government's attempt at reducing the gap between the income and expenditure in the budget.

But he alleged that the 2014 budget had failed to encourage the export industry, which is vital for Sri Lanka's development.

Maithri's prosperous home garden

Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena who introduced the concept 'Api Wawamu - Rata Nagamu' (Let's cultivate and upgrade the country) maintains an excellent home garden for himself at his official residence at Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 7.

Though it is not known to many, Maithri's home garden at his official residence is now full of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs etc. The entire home garden has been cultivated using organic fertilizers. Artificial fertilizers have never been used for any cultivation.

Minister Sirisena introduced the 'Api Wawamu - Rata Nagamu' concept while he held the Agriculture Minister portfolio in the UPFA Government. Maithri distributes fruits and vegetable seeds among his staff every year and even now, he invites the entire Health Ministry staff to view his home garden.

Minister Sirisena stated that his concept is very popular in the country today and a majority of Sri Lankans maintain well cultivated home gardens for themselves. Its fresh vegetables and fruits grown sans artificial fertilizers, pesticides that are extremely healthy and Maithri had set an example to all by practicing what he preaches.

Amunugama takes on Ranil

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa presided when Parliament met on Friday morning. After the presentation of papers and oral questions, the House took up the debate on the Appropriation Bill 2014 for the second allotted day.

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told the Parliament that the financial control of the country should lie with the legislature.

Finance and Planning Deputy Minister and International Monetary Co-operation Senior Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama said the public rejects the Opposition.

"The Opposition Leader has not studied the budgetary proposals. The budget was presented with the theme 'Development, participation and equity.' the budget was prepared in consultation with various segments of the society," he said.

"Their participation made a critical contribution to the contents in the budget. According to the Fiscal Management report, Sri Lanka has attained a rapid development growth. In 2011 our economic growth rate was 8.3 percent, in 2012 it was 6.4 percent. This rate is estimated to be 7.3 percent in 2013 and it is predicted to grow upto 7.5 percent in 2014. Compared to many other countries this is a commendable achievement. We are progressing fast despite numerous global challenges," Dr. Amunugama added.

The minister said that Sri Lanka's agriculture has improved to a level that the country could sell the excess production of paddy to the World Food Programme.

"The Opposition is not referring to these gains. Sri Lanka expects a USD 2.5 billion income from the tourism industry. The government has been able to control inflation rate at 6 percent. Today our inflation rate is below the economic growth rate.

There was a time in the past that the inflation rate grew to a two digit level. We have been able to achieve the stipulated targets with regard to reducing the budget deficit.

In 2013 the budget deficit was 5.8 percent and we intend to reduce it to 3 percent within another 2-3 years," the Minister said.