Behind Closed Doors

Buzz-leader is left out, royals resort to selfies and a TV channel goes a-begging

by Rasputin

Buzz-leader left out

A certain Buzz-leader, who was at the heart of the country’s security establishment, was overlooked by the President when appointing ministry big-wigs last week.

According to whispers behind closed doors, the new government had received a number of complaints against the conduct of Buzz-nayake and his alleged association with top echelons of the former regime.

He first came under criticism for his dubious role in the inquiry into a private security firm operating on the high seas and, his feverish attempts to defend the former chief security bigwig who is now under investigation. In the recent past, he drew the attention of the media as there were reports that he had vehemently opposed the arrests of intelligence unit members in connection with a journalist’s disappearance.

The missing journalist’s wife had stated on record that a senior security official deliberately delayed issuance of detention orders to keep the suspects of the case in custody.

It required no Einsteinian wisdom to realize that the accusation was directed at Buzz-leader, a non-military official who occupied a top seat in the security establishment.

In addition to that, this Buzz-leader had earned the ire of some of the most influential members of the government by openly associating with members of the former first family who faced criminal charges.

It is against this backdrop that the government took measures to leave Buzz-Leader out of the picture when appointing secretaries to 44 ministries. Another senior state official was appointed to replace Buzz-leader at his all-important ministry located close to the office of the President.

Only selfies for royals now!

The fallen king, who lost his comeback bid in August, is now striving to be the ‘king of selfies’ by posing for all kinds of odd selfies going viral on social media.

A few days ago, the youngest prince published a selfie on his official twitter account where the former king was seen wearing a T shirt, a pair of shorts and rubber slippers. It was taken while the former king was in a holiday mood of some sort.

There was a time when the former king was extremely cautious of his photographs carried in the media.

The journalists who captured his ‘ugly’ photographs during public events were forced to delete them by watchful PSD officials. Editors who published not-so-good-looking pictures of the former king received constant phone calls from the palace. They were advised to publish pictures boosting the so-called macho personality of the ex-king.

However, it is clear to all that following his reversal of fortunes, the fallen king now has bigger issues to worry about than his ‘odd-looking’ pictures.

Ex-Leftist’s housing blues

An ex-leftist, who is now a senior-most member of the blue party, is accused of occupying a government bungalow in the Kegalle district for nearly 17 years. Although letter after letter has been sent by the district secretariat requesting him to hand over the house, the politico had conveniently forgotten the matter, probably because he could not figure out the difference between “private property” and “public property” due to his leftist leanings.

The state authorities were not in a position to initiate action against the politico due to the political power he wielded under the former regime.

After the new government came to power, the matter had resurfaced and the district secretariat had sent the ‘final reminder’ to the political bigwig to hand over the house with immediate effect.

Fearing that political interference may not hinder legal action, the ex-leftist is now preparing to hand over the house after 17 long years. However, as the politician has now aligned himself with yahapalanaya, the state authorities are still a little skeptical about the final fate of the house.

Sports channel going a-begging

The grapevine was a buzz last week with the news that a certain sports TV channel, previously owned by a self-styled royal family, has drawn the attention of several high profile businessmen who also have strong links to politics. It was rumoured that they were ready to invest money in the sports channel which is already under investigation.

The front-runner among the potential investors was a bigwig of the present government who has a strong business as well as a financial background.

Putting a damper on their ‘investment-plans’, the judiciary overseeing the probe, on Friday, issued an interim order banning the sale, lease or temporary transfer of the sports channel. This came as a serious disappointment to those who were eying the sports channel which openly campaigned for royalty during the recently held elections. While banning its sale, the court has also permitted the investigators to summon the channel’s directors for questioning under the Money Laundering Act.