Maithripala spins fairy-tale promises

New Democratic Front (NDF) candidate for the upcoming Presidential election, Maithripala Sirisena is playing the role of Santa Claus this Christmas season by making impractical promises which no human being could fulfill.

The most notable is to increase the salaries of public servants by Rs. 10,000 each - the identical election pledge made by NDF candidate Sarath Fonseka at the last Presidential election in 2010.

Among the other fairy-tale promises in Maithripala's 'dream' manifesto is to pay Rs., 20,000 for each child birth, increase Mahapola undergraduate scholarships by Rs. 5,000 and Government pensions by Rs. 3,500. Maithripala has pledged to remove all taxes on fuel, remove import tax on ten essential goods, cut down bank loans of farmers by 50 percent and waive off bank loans offered to public servants to purchase motorcycles.

Maithripala's election manifesto could tempt people to vote for him at first glance. But if one were to calculate the staggering amount of money to implement them, anybody with even a little knowledge in arithmetic would realise that implementing these promises would be impossible.

When Fonseka unsuccessfully contested the last Presidential election exactly five years ago, he too promised the sun and the stars to increase salaries of public servants by Rs. 10,000 each, in the hope that it would be attractive. In sharp contrast, President Mahinda Rajapaksa offered a salary increase of Rs. 2,500, saying that he would promise only what is possible. The masses reposed implicit faith in President Rajapaksa though his rival candidate Fonseka's offer seems four times more attractive.

When taking a closer look at Maithripala's election manifesto, it is crystal clear that neither he nor his advisors have even an iota of knowledge on basic economics. Apart from the host of other benefits offered by Maithripala, the promised salary increase alone for public servants as well as the increase of Mahapola funds and monthly pensions would run into billions of rupees.

More interestingly, Maithripala feels that finding those huge finances would be possible after he removes the tax on fuel, essential goods and waives the bank loans of farmers and public servants. Moreover, another staggering sum of money would be needed to implement Maithripala's multi-fold welfare measures.

Even a Treasury peon, knows only too well, that granting such huge benefits would be impossible after waiving billions of rupees that would be generated as state revenue by way of the tax on fuel and other essential commodities.

The removal of tax on essential goods such as rice, big onions and potatoes would seriously affect local farmers. Maithripala says that he is a son of a farmer from Polonnaruwa but fails to understand the damage his policies could impact on local farmers.

It is evident, therefore, that Maithripala's election manifesto is filled with fairy-tale promises, merely to woo the common man's vote. It is a hotchpotch of proposals put forward by various leaders in the so-called common Opposition, without realising the gravity of such promises.

The pledge in Maithripala's election manifesto to offer free internet and Wi-Fi facilities in public places and city centres is obviously a suggestion by Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who plays to the gallery to attract the youth vote. It is still fresh in people's minds how he offered bracelets and chewing gum to young men and women during some of his election campaigns.

Extending outpatient facilities till 10 pm and overcoming the long waiting lists for operations in Government hospitals is also misleading. Maithripala has also promised to launch a fund for kidney patients. Maithripala, himself, had been the Minister of Health for the past few years and if he had even a modicum of concern for poor patients, he would have implemented those measures long ago.

In point of fact, the highest number of kidney patients in the country is from his native North Central Province. The million-dollar question is why did Maithripala wait so long to focus attention on kidney patients as most of them who had voted for him at successive elections, when he was Health Minister. He is now shedding crocodile tears to gain cheap popularity and hoodwink the public.

The aroma of the 'common soup' is appetising but those who 'consume' it would find it indigestible.

President Rajapaksa would never promise anything he is unable to deliver. Even during his two previous Presidential election campaigns in 2005 and 2010, he conceived the Mahinda Chinthana, a novel concept of a policy statement rather than the hackneyed election pledges. President Rajapaksa's Mahinda Chinthana vision for the future 2015 would also be an improved version of Mahinda Chinthana 2.

Even the few things plausible in Maithripala's manifesto are duplicates of the Mahinda Chinthana. The increase in the number of Mahapola scholarships for undergraduates was already included in the UPFA Government's 2015 Budget presented by President Rajapaksa. The President also increased pensions while increasing public servants' salaries to the maximum.

Maithripala's election manifesto says that no new licences would be given for casinos. This is exactly what President Rajapaksa had done during the past nine years. If Maithripala is deeply perturbed over gambling and hopes to fulfill the wishes of JHU stalwarts Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera and Champika Ranawaka, he should have promised to cancel the licences for even the few casinos operating.

To say the least, Maithripala has no backbone because all those casino licences had been granted during the 1977-1994 UNP regime where Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had been a Cabinet Minister.

Maithripala has to appease not only Wickremesinghe but also Mano Ganeshan and his LTTE sympathisers. In a desperate attempt to mollycoddle Ganeshan, Maithripala had promised to conduct a fresh investigation on war crimes allegations. Should there be another investigation when a credible local investigation is already under way with foreign expertise.

There is something fishy in Maithripala's remarks on a fresh investigation on alleged war crimes. What Maithripala really means could be an investigation with foreign participation but he did not elaborate, fearing he would lose the Southerners' vote.

Maithripala's agreement with the TNA, the Tamil Diaspora and the LTTE rump, is now an open secret. The TNA has been asked to defer announcing it to the Tamils in the North and the East until the last 48 hours prior to the January 8 poll. Here again, Maithripala is trying to grab the near 700,000 votes of the Tamils on one hand while robbing the votes of the Sinhalese with outlandish promises.

It wouldn't be surprising if Maithripala secures another agreement with extremist Muslims for a separate governing body in the East as the so-called common Opposition is going hell for leather to win at any cost. The power-hungry politicians in the Opposition would descend to any level in their lust for power.

The LTTE cohorts and the Western politicians who are hell-bent to checkmate Sri Lanka are cognizant of the deplorable conduct of opportunistic politicians in the Opposition. Hence, they have deftly tapped the Opposition to exploit the power-hungry politicians to fulfill the Western dream of a regime change in Sri Lanka.

Fortunately, the masses are, by far more intelligent and would not fall prey to any of these Western conspiracies. They will no doubt continue to rally round the leader who had ushered in peace for all communities to live in harmony.

The daydreams of LTTE cohorts and some Western leaders would never materialise as long as the masses in far-flung areas continue to repose implicit faith in President Rajapaksa. The masses have demonstrated in no uncertain terms their faith in President Rajapaksa and their strong unity would not permit any force on earth to rob Sri Lanka of its hard-earned peace.