Never short of revelations and scandalous behaviour

This cat who is waiting to catch, not rats, but snippets of interesting news loved the newspapers of Saturday, December 12. You know how cats catch rats: they sprawl completely relaxed as if they are dead to the world and then when a pesky rat dares cross a room believing its enemy the cat is immobilized, it suddenly, with feline swiftness, springs forward, back arched and whiskers twitching and catches the hapless creature.

Similarly this cat sits comfortably reading the newspapers during and soon after breakfast and twitches with excitement off and on and suddenly dashes to her computer to note some item of news that has caught her eye.

Rats are sneaky; rats smell bad; rats steal food. So does Menika’s bits of news: they stink, report sneaky dishonesty and encroach often on the private domains of VIPs. Remember how we recently guffawed reading about a Minister of State being taken to a nursing home by his lady love of the night to undo a stiff problem?!

Helicoptering scandal

As Menika was saying, on Saturday, December 12, newspapers brought grist to her mill, food for thought and power to her writing wrist. The headline in one newspaper went thus: ‘Basil used poverty relief funds to the tune of Rs 156 million for domestic flying – PRECIFAC’.

Tch! Tch! growled this cat. Not done at all. Stealing from the poor for personal joy rides.

Brazen violation of financial regulations. Every cent of the amount in the poverty relief budget was sorely needed for the poor and the destitute. And here goes the Minister, who should be straining every sinew and pressing every gray cell to help the poor of this country, with perhaps a tiny loan, a free meal, a glass of milk for a child, squandering the Ministry money on his personal comfort, in spite of his having a luxury car, or many. So much to do for the poor and how does the Minister in charge use the money? To sprint in and out of helicopters and fly hither and thither. These VIP politicos will sell their souls, leave alone principles, for a joy ride.

‘Ranil refuses to meet GMOA bigwigs.’ Jolly good! Snub them left, right and centre. Very correctly the Prime Minister pointed out that GMOA officials met the President and Health Minister. So they would discuss, negotiate and decide how things were to move forward. Hence what had they to discuss with him, the PM?

Someone said in Parliament that the GMOA was Rajapaksa blue. So were they also puppets, their strings strung by You-Know-Who? On Monday, December 14, a JVPer proved with pictures et al that a statement by MR or one of his braying followers that the LTTE was making its presence felt in a big way and warned sharp warnings, was a mounting of posters by a minor political party in South India.

The JVPer rightly pointed out that this sort of false rumour would surely create animosity and fear among the races when government and interested altruistic parties are attempting to reconcile and cement good ethnic relations. Is there no let up on selfishness in the face of the country being so dangerously poised economically and ethnically?

Another Saturday, December 12 headline screamed ‘Thajudeen case plunges House into turmoil’. Sittings in Parliament were suspended twice and MPs almost exchanged blows. UNP Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman brought up the death of national rugby player Wasim Thajudeen and alleged that some of those responsible for killing that young man had been elected to Parliament in August.

He also mentioned that the killers would soon be identified. That met with a lot of shouting from the ‘shadow Opposition’ - the name Ranil W adroitly gave the second opposition of stooges and shouters for Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Three UPFA MPs - Johnston Fernando, Sanath Nishantha and Indika Anuruddha rushed towards MP Rahuman with intent to harm him. Others came forward to thwart this attack. At a later stage, Navin Dissanayake was also forced to come forward.

Lakshman Kiriella, Leader of the House, said that killings have been mentioned in Parliament many times but it’s only this case that arouses such ire.

What was the hidden cause for such fury and retaliation when this particular crime – a cold blooded, cruel murder being swept away as an accident was brought up?

As a schoolgirl with others, Menika used to chant ‘Guilty conscience pricks the bum’ and puhul hora karen denai when a guilty secret was outed. Why this Pavlov’s salivating rat syndrome every time an unsavoury allusion is made to the former first family? Were the shouting MPs on the defensive mode attempting to win Brownie points? Or just reacting like they seem to be doing all the time now that they are out of power.

G-stringed goviyas go a-marching

Demonstrations and protest marches are ever increasing both in frequency of occurrence and volume of protestors. Menika has just managed to crawl home with heart a-thumping and bile of disgust arising. She passed a protest march of murderous looking men replying to a shouted slogan, of course against the government.

Her friend, the driver of the car, said it should be a farmers’ protest. Well, it was since at the start of the march were men in g-strings – frankly disgusting in a city street unlike in a paddy field where that is the accepted attire. What were they shouting about? Fertilizer subsidy? Fixed price for their produce? These and other problems, if problems they are, have to be discussed sanely with officials, not shouted about in crowded streets blocking traffic and causing worse entanglement. Menika was scared, she admits, while her friend carefully maneuvered the car forwards.

The police were helpful but stayed back as observers. They learnt a bitter lesson after the student march to the UGC. This lone voice in the wilderness - Menika’s - still maintains that the students were to blame provoking the police to react. She is also of the strong opinion that there is a master puppeteer who has lesser fellows pulling the protesting puppets’ strings.

The puppets seem to be paid to protest, professional protestors akin to the professional funeral mourners of Negombo and the North – both distasteful to look at, hard faced and insincere.

There may have been a few genuine farmers in the protest at around 3 pm in the Town Hall area on Thursday, December 17. Others were mercenaries, for sure – packet of rice, a tot of arrack and a couple of rupees in hand for the pantomime. The Master Puppeteer should have his strings cut!!

- Menika