Behind Closed Doors

MR mulls retirement while PB does a Bolt!

by Rasputin

Mahinda to retire?

The grapevine is abuzz with the news that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is planning to bid adieu to his political career in three months. The former President had made this revelation to President Maithripala Sirisena when the two met for a closed-door discussion last Sunday at the President’s residence .

Rajapaksa had said his sisters, Preethi and Gandhini, had urged him to stay out of politics and go into retirement, ‘for good’.

Speaking of his future plans at the meeting, a crestfallen Rajapaksa had said his destiny would be decided by President Sirisena who is now the Chairman of the SLFP. It was a strong indication that Rajapaksa was in a desperate need of a ‘way-out’ as law enforcement authorities including the Police Special Investigation Unit (SIU) had expedited their investigations on corruption allegations.

On the other hand, he and some of the top echelons of his regime are beleaguered in the international domain over war crimes allegations during the final phase of the war in Sri Lanka.

Ironically, this was the man who was dubbed by his acolytes as the invincible King of Sri Lanka, when he was in power!

Mahinda for Pradeshiya Sabha?

When former President Rajapaksa announced that he would enter the electoral fray on the UPFA ticket seeking Prime Ministerial candidacy, JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake quipped that the former President would end up contesting the Beliatta Pradeshiya Sabha election too.

And it may not be too far from reality. In a major step in that direction, some of the close allies of Rajapaksa, including Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and Dinesh Gunawardena, held a discussion last week on the forthcoming Local Government elections. The outcome of the discussion was to initiate a separate political front under the leadership of Rajapaksa to contest the Local Government (LG) election. They were fully aware that contesting with the SLFP would not be an option at the LG election as the SLFP has already made plans to distance itself from the UPFA’s minor parties.

However, it is still not clear whether Rajapaksa will swallow Weerawansa’s bait this time as he has already conveyed to President Sirisena that he will retire from politics in three months. Interestingly, Weerawansa’s group is confident that Rajapaksa will come forward to give ‘leadership’ to their election campaign at the local government election which will held in a few months.

PB does a ‘Bolt’

One time all-powerful Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera was seen sprinting around the CID premises on Friday as he attempted to avoid journalists who gathered to interview him when he came out of the CID after giving a statement.

According to whispers behind closed doors, the CID officers had turned down a request by Dr. Jayasundera to send him home in a police vehicle after questioning. As a result, Dr. Jayasundera, the mastermind behind ‘Mahindanomics’, had to get his own car to the CID premises.

Resembling the nail-biting race between athletes Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin, journalists were seen running frantically after Dr. Jayasundera to get a statement from him before he reached his car. “Had Mahinda won the election, we wouldn’t have gone through all this,” a witty journalist of a private TV station told his colleagues while running.

Thick-skinned

The SLFP is to make another attempt to bring all its former hierarchy, including former Presidents together at the party’s 64th anniversary scheduled to take place in Polonnaruwa on September 2.

The party has already invited former Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa - two patrons of the party - to grace the event. However, it is still not entirely clear whether former President Kumaratunga, who is now a highly influential figure in the party, wants to be seen in public with Rajapaksa.

On the other hand, the SLFP’s balance of power is now very much in favour of President Sirisena. Duminda Dissanayake, who boycotted the UPFA’s inaugural rally in Anuradhapura in protest against the decision to give nomination to Rajapaksa, has now been appointed General Secretary of the party and many ‘Rajapaksa loyalists’ have been removed from important decision-making bodies of the SLFP.

Some speculate that Rajapaksa, who once ruled the party with an iron fist, may ‘dodge’ the anniversary celebrations as conditions are not favourable to him.

A wag pointed out, however, that Rajapaksa whose political career spans over four and a half decades, is one of the most thick-skinned politicians the country has ever produced!