Pada Yatra

‘Hooting at one’s own voters’

By Uditha Kumarasinghe

Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media Minister Gayantha Karunatilleka said, the Joint Opposition (JO) Pada Yatra was an utter failure, in that, the JO members failed to muster public support, nor did they conduct themselves well. In an interview with the Sunday Observer, the Minister said, organising a Pada Yatra to show the people’s power is the final trump card for the Opposition to attempt at toppling the Government, but unfortunately, they mixed up their priorities and ended up in a dismal manner.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Concluding the Jana Satana Pada Yatra, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said, the next time they will continue their struggle until they capture power. Is it possible to topple a democratically elected Government in this manner?

A: According to what the Joint Opposition (JO) pledged on the eve of launching the Pada Yatra, now the Government has already been toppled. The JO roared that they would bring thousands of people to Colombo and see that the Government packs its bags and goes home. President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe offered Campbell Park to the JO, for their rally. The Police personally conveyed it to the former President Rajapaksa. But, the JO didn’t have the numbers to fill Campbell Park. Finally, their march / procession, comprising 2-3,000 at most, was restricted to Lipton’s Circus. Even when university students organize a protest, they certainly muster a bigger crowd than the JO. Recently, there was a good cartoon in a newspaper where a mosquito stings an elephant. The mosquito asks the elephant, “were you hurt”? The elephant in turn asks the mosquito, “did you really sting me”? The JO Pada Yatra is just like that.

Although the JO made a big hue and cry, they couldn’t even bring their own people to Lipton’s Circus. Actually, it was more or less a comedy, where infants were used to insult the President of the country, and participants hooted at their own party headquarters. Therefore, the Pada Yatra has headed towards its own decay and death.

Q: Are you investigating whether there was a veiled attempt at capturing power?

A: As the JO says, we are well aware they don’t have enough force to topple the Government. When the allegations on corruptions are levelled one by one, against JO politicians, it is a childish attempt by them to divert public attention towards another direction, in a bid to regain lost power. Finally, they themselves could gauge their own strength. They couldn’t bring even 2,500 people to Colombo. It is perhaps the minimum number a politician could gather. Even a Pradeshiya Sabha member in our villages could secure more than 2,500 votes.

Q: The JO says, the attempt by the Government to block the march indicated that they were scared of them. Is there any truth in this allegation?

A: Although the JO insulted the President and the Government during the march, we didn’t make an attempt to block it. It showed how bankrupt the JO’s Pada Yatra was, because they even used young children to repeat their slogans. The JO, through resorting to such futile attempts lost even the little power they had, as well as their reputation. If they had entertained any thoughts of coming into power one day, such hopes were shattered due to the ill-fated Pada Yatra.

Q: Although the Police wanted to prevent the march from disturbing the public at several towns, the judiciary rejected most of their requests for injunctions. Would it have been possible under a Rajapaksa administration?

A: It was a clear testimony to the independence of the judiciary. It also shows that the Government does not interfere with the judiciary. The people are well aware that there was no such independence of judiciary during the Rajapaksa regime. Whenever the then Opposition launched a protest march or demonstration, we witnessed how the former Government brutally assaulted and even killed some of the protesters. During the Rajapaksa regime, Roshen Chanaka, an employee of the Katunayake Free Trade Zone (FTZ) was killed when the Police fired at an FTZ protest by using live rounds. Three youths were killed when the former Government deployed the Army and Police to shoot the people at Rathupaswala who launched an agitation for their right to uncontaminated water. In addition, fisherman Antony Warnakulasuriya was killed when the Police fired at the protesting fishermen in Chilaw.

When the very people who resorted to such killings and deprived the people of their democratic rights commenced a Pada Yatra, the Government didn’t use tear gas, water bowsers nor rubber bullets to attack them. This is Yahapalana, which shows the difference between democracy practised by the former Government and the incumbent Government. The JO hoped the Government would disrupt their Pada Yatra, so that they could wind up prematurely. It is not a Pada Yatra launched on behalf of the people. It didn’t take up the cost of living or any other burning issues of the masses. It was launched to express their personal hatred and jealously towards the President.

Q: The public saw on TV, the leading members of the JO dancing and uttering filth during the Pada Yatra, and, many supporters were apparently drunk and attacked an ambulance. What kind of message does this behaviour give to the public about the JO?

A: The JO members failed on both, attendance and behaviour. The Pada Yatra was an utter failure. Organising a Pada Yatra to show the people’s power is the final trump card for the Opposition to attempt at toppling a Government. Unfortunately, they mixed up their priorities. On the very first day of the Pada Yatra they committed a horrible act by attacking an ambulance.

Q: Many political commentators say, the JO members want to grab power to evade the alleged corruption cases against them. What is your comment?

A: Those who committed acts of corruption are well aware that they can’t get away from those charges. Therefore, they want to divert public attention and topple the Government to resort to the same corrupt practices.

Q: At least 113 members are needed to form a Government and the JO has only 51 members in Parliament. So, is there any possibility of them coming to power by defeating the Government in the budget vote or any other similar opportunity?

A: The JO brought a No Confidence Motion against the Finance Minister and said, they would show their strength, but, finally, the Government showed its strength by defeating the motion with an overwhelming majority. Likewise, the Government would further increase its votes at the forthcoming budget.

Q: What is your opinion about the hooting by JO members at the SLFP headquarters?

A: The SLFP members in the JO have stooped down to a very low level. If somebody hoots at their own party headquarters, it shows the mean level of their behaviour. A special Police team was deployed to provide security to the Bandaranaike Samadhi in Horagolla, on a request made by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, ahead of the joint opposition’s protest march arriving in the area. The JO has descended to the degradable level of necessitating security to protect the Bandaranaike Samadhi. JO members hooting at the SLFP headquarters is something like hooting at their own leaders, as well their voters.

Q: The JO was perhaps hoping for a rift between the President and the Prime Minister, and the UNP and the SLFP, as a ploy to come back to power. In this context, how significant is the MoU signed between the UNP and the SLFP to continue till 2020?

A: The JO thought the MoU signed between the SLFP and the UNP will be over within two years, and after that the two parties will go their separate ways. Those in the JO are fighting with each other. I could say with responsibility, the JO will not be able to shake this Government until it completes its full tenure.

Q: The JO accuses the Government of deliberately denying them access to Hyde Park grounds, but later the Government offered them Campbell Park. Why in your opinion, didn’t they use this facility which can in fact hold a bigger number of people?

A: From the very beginning , the JO started their Pada Yatra with some doubts. That is why they didn’t reserve even a ground to conduct their rally. Their intention was to come to Lipton’s Circus and not to conduct their rally anywhere else. It is the only place where they can bring a minimum number of people and portray it as a big crowd. If the JO accepted the Campbell Park venue, they knew very well they didn’t have a sufficient crowd to fill the ground. That is why they deliberately avoided it and held their rally at Lipton’s Circus.