Behind Closed Doors

Of Mujha and Hula,

by Rasputin

Gota’s nomination blocked

Before the Parliamentary election was announced there was widespread speculation that former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa would join the electoral fray as a candidate.

The former Defence Secretary even applied to get his US citizenship cancelled as dual citizens were not permitted to contest Parliamentary elections under the 19th Amendment.

However, Rajapaksa later decided to stay out of the race while even his elder brother, who once led the party with an iron fist, had to wage a battle until the last moment to get himself a parliamentary nomination.

It has now been revealed that a senior most official in the UPFA hierarchy, who was instrumental in getting parliamentary nomination for the former President, had vehemently opposed even considering Gotabhaya as a candidate. Gotabhaya had plans to contest the Colombo District and this news had ruffled the UPFA bigwig who also represented the same district. He had reportedly said he would step down from his position in the UPFA if the party considered Gotabhaya as a candidate.

Party insiders whisper that this threat was based on a single concern. Had Gotabhaya contested the election, the bigwig, whose popularity had rapidly eroded over the past 10 years, would have suffered a disastrous defeat in the Colombo District where the UPFA is facing a tough race.

Helicopter rides

That same UPFA bigwig is now confronting another issue as government authorities have asked him to pay over Rs. 2 million as fees for his helicopter rides during the last Presidential election. The Sri Lanka Air Force had been quite generous with its helicopters, especially for government politicians, during the Presidential election and most of the UPFA stalwarts hardly travelled by road.

Shocking details of their helicopter rides were published in the media following the Presidential election and it clearly showed that the UPFA, during Rajapaksa’s time, had splurged millions and millions of public money for ‘transport purposes’.

After reports were published, some politicos took measures to pay a total of Rs. 23 million to the government, fearing possible legal action and bad publicity. However, the UPFA’s Colombo bigwig, who was also in charge of the party’s nominations, is yet to pay his Rs. 2 million fee for helicopter rides. The talk behind closed doors is that he is buying time until the end of the election, optimistic that a ‘blue party government’ will allow him to get away without payment.

Mujha and Hula

Suspected international drug kingpin ‘Mujha’ has made headlines in the local media over his alleged connections with top rung politicians and State officials of the previous regime.

A photograph taken at a function where Mujha and former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajpaksa were seen shaking hands went viral on social media over the past few days.

Mujha received assistance from the country’s defence establishment to produce a film about the war a few years back. A large number of artistes, actors and actresses, who went on to strengthen the hands of the former President, last year, were involved in Muja’s film.