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| Sunday, 27 March 2005 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Memoirs of Sirima R.D.Bandaranaike : MEP Government 1956-59
The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) was a front of several parties formed for the purpose of contesting the election of '56. Parties in it were SLFP - the major party, VLSSP led by Phillip Gunawardene, Bhasha Peramuna led by W. Dahanayake, and Samajawadi Mahajana Peramuna led by IMRA Iriyagolla. The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) Cabinet was formed on April 12th 1956. After that Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and the Cabinet and MPs went to Kandy to the Dalada Maligawa. There were massive crowds to receive them. The PM addressed them from the Maligawa grounds. Several progressive measures were carried out by the MEP Government such as nationalisation of road transport, port, the Paddy Lands Act to give ande cultivators more rights etc. When the Paddy Lands Act was introduced a group of persons (reactionaries) organised a demonstration outside Gordon Gardens. It later transpired that it was organised against the Minister Phillip Gunawardene, who introduced the Paddy Lands Act which was approved by the Cabinet. Though it was introduced by him as Minister of Agriculture it was SWRD's proposal. Even long before he formed the Government it was one of his views that the paddy farmer must be given more rights in order to encourage him to produce more rice in order to be self-sufficient in rice. Later it transpired that some of the groups that organised this demonstration were behind SWRD's assassination in September 1959. A group of Ministers were constantly clashing with Phillip at Cabinet meetings. Phillip had been often nasty to them calling them various names. He was known to be hot tempered, very aggressive and abusive at times. The Ministers protested against this and said it was most unpleasant working with him. Apparently there was no team spirit. It was a dilemma for SWRD. He finally decided to reshuffle the Cabinet. Phillip disagreed. He and Minister William de Silva, the other VLSSP member in the cabinet left the government. When the new reshuffled Cabinet was sworn in SWRD invited the Ministers to have kiribath at Temple Trees the official residence of the PM. He went there. I was waiting for them there. Only Ministers A.P. Jayasuriya and T.B. Illangaratne came early. The others came rather late. When he made inquiries he learnt that they had all gone to Stanley Soysa's (Finance Minister) place at Regent Flats to have kiribath (Milk Rice). When they finally came SWRD expressed his dissatisfaction over that. That Cabinet crisis and what followed was probably the beginning of the plot to assassinate him. He was never happy after that. He probably felt something was brewing behind his back. To meet the challenge of the UNP at '56 elections SWRD formed a front a People's United Front commonly known as MEP. The CP and LSSP could not be partners because their policy on language was different from that of the SLFP. But there was a no contest pact between them and the MEP. After 1959 this front did not exist. Bhasha Peramuna and Iriyagolla's party just faded away but Phillip continued with the new MEP as his group and dropped the name VLSSP. Reproduced with the kind permission of ANCL Editorial Consultant Malalgoda Bandutilleke custodian of the manuscript.
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