Behind Closed Doors

Of faith and fear and that carrom board extravagance

by Rasputin Customs DG’s departure

The resignation of Director General of Customs has sent shockwaves across political circles. The DG has stated he resigned on personal grounds although some websites have said there was a ministerial hand behind the resignation.

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake swiftly responded to allegations levelled against him by media, stating that he would take legal action against those who published what he termed as ‘slanderous reports’ connecting him and the resignation of the Customs Director General.

Meanwhile, a group of MPs representing the UPFA met last week at a closed door discussion with regard to the no-confidence motion against Karunanayake. The MPs discussed the possibility of including the controversy surrounding resignation of the Customs Director General into the no-confidence motion against the Finance Minister.

As the motion against Karunanayake had already been handed over to the Speaker there were some technical issues standing in their way. However, they later agreed to raise the matter in Parliament during the debate on the no-confidence motion. While the UPFA MPs were busy re-designing the no-confidence motion against Karunayake, a group of UNP MPs too had an under the radar meeting to discuss consequences of the no-confidence motions that were in the offing. Interestingly, the UNP MPs were of the view that the no-faith motions were a positive sign as they would trigger early dissolution of Parliament allowing the party to seek a fresh mandate.

“A group in the SLFP wants to get the election postponed. They know that the no-confidence motions will lead to dissolution of Parliament. So, they will try their best to hold back the no-confidence motions saying they were more interested in electoral reforms. We should not fall into this trap. We should challenge them to present no confidence motions as soon as possible,” a firebrand MP of the UNP explained to his colleagues.

However, his speculation became quite accurate when the Opposition Leader said they were not in a hurry to topple the Government. The Opposition Leader indicated that the party was planning to go slow on the no-confidence motions despite fiery remarks made by the group supporting the former President.

Investigations scare Ya-pa

The Pro-Rajapaksa group, over the past few days, had various discussions on finding ‘loopholes’ in the constitution of the SLFP to ensure nomination for former President Rajapaksa to contest at the Parliamentary election. This came against a backdrop where President Sirisena had flatly refused to grant nomination to the former President.

They had lengthy discussions on drawing the support of office bearers of the SLFP into the political campaign of Rajapaksa. They were extremely confident that Susil Premajayantha, General Secretary of the UPFA, would switch allegiance and pledge support to the former President at a crucial juncture. Another Parliamentarian said John Seneviratne, a party stalwart from the Rathnapura district, had already crossed the Rubicon. It was also clear that they had no hopes whatsoever on the Opposition Leader who has earned a nickname as ‘sleeping beauty’ for his notorious sleeping habits.

Meanwhile, another MP was asking around whether there was any possibility of drawing the support of a certain Ya-pa who holds a top-rung post in the blue party. One MP remarked there was no way that they could ‘by-pass’ Yapa when it came to nominations for the forthcoming election. Lo and behold, the response he received from other colleagues was disappointing.

“Ya-pa will be the last one to jump over to this side as the ongoing investigations have scared him to death. He will pretend as if he is ready to cross but his loyalty will remain with the one who wields power,” an MP from the blue party explained Ya-pa’s behaviour.

Apparently, Ya-Pa is presently under investigation by law enforcement bodies for alleged malpractices at a State sector institution that happened under his watch. Unlike Premajayantha, Ya-pa has so far remained tight-lipped on controversies in the political domain while concealing his allegiances.

No intelligence chief

‘Security chinks’ in Yahapalanaya is no strange topic to media as there were several controversies, in the recent past, surrounding the same issue. This week, another shocking revelation highlighting a serious lapse on the part of the defence establishment of the country made ripples across the political circles. The Government came to power in January, 2015 and over the past five months it has struggled to appoint an overall intelligence chief to overlook a key aspect of the Government’s defence apparatus. Under the previous administration, this role was played by Major General Kapila Hendavitharana and his conduct came into question due to various reasons.

At the same time, it is also in the grapevine that officials who have strong Gota-links are still functioning in key positions in the country’s defence establishment and they leak important information to their former boss on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the government has so far failed to take strict action against the culprits responsible for such leaks.

Informed sources who are sympathisers of yahapaalanaya told Rasputin that this ‘laissez faire’ approach to intelligence matters could one day have a debilitating impact on the Government.

Carrom board inquiry

The investigation carried out by the Police Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) has placed several top echelons of the former government in hot water. The allegation was that the campaign offices of former President Rajapaksa for the Presidential election were provided with Carrom and draughts boards at state expense costing Rs. 29 million.

The Police have revealed that the 14,000 Carrom boards under question were distributed across the country using the election machinery of the blue party. Therefore, those who ran the election campaign of the former President are now finding themselves on a ‘bad wicket’ as their names have been mentioned in connection with the investigation. Former Secretary to the Sports Ministry Major General Nanda Mallawarachchi has already been questioned by police in connection with the investigation.

Although distribution of carrom and draughts boards may seem like a not-so-serious investigation at first sight, it is now turning into an inquiry that will result in far-reaching ramifications.

Romesh de Silva declines

President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva was approached by the Government to be the Sri Lankan High Commission in the UK. Former High Commissioner Dr. Chris Nonis, who stepped down from his post following a brawl with a notorious Parliamentarian, is now a Presidential Advisor on international affairs. De Silva is no alien to political and diplomatic sources due to his involvement in some high profile cases.

However, informed sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told on Friday that Romesh de Silva has politely turned down the appointment due to personal reasons.