Whispers of Conspiracy: SJB Plot Allegedly Unfolded over Julie Chung’s Dinner Table
Harini Meets Ranil: Political Chemistry Brewing in Colombo’s Silent Corners
Stronger Than Ever: SJB Rallies Around Its Leader Amid Crisis Claims
Ranil Eyes Ravi for Parliament Comeback amid Strategic Realignment
Milinda Moves to the Fore: Talks of a Common Candidate Intensify
Conspiracy exposed
In an extraordinary revelation in ‘inside Politics’ column last week we highlighted the Ranil Wickramasinghe’s latest game plan to create a crisis within SJB.
We said how he planted some fake news in ‘Lankadeepa’ newspaper which belongs to his family’s vijaya newspaper group.
When our newspaper was released to the market on Saturday, our revelation was 100% confirmed when we looked at the headline of the ‘Irida Lankadeepa’ newspaper that was released to the market the same weekend.
The ‘Lankadeepa’ headline, along with a large photograph of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, had reported ‘Secret discussions to change the Opposition Leader’. The news also stated that discussions were underway to give the position leadership to another opposition MP. Our revelation was 100% confirmed within a few hours, with our revelation, we could see how Ranil’s conspiracy against SJB and Sajith was exposed.
‘Irida Lankadeepa’ is a newspaper belonging to Ranil’s family. Its owner is Ranjith Wijewardene, Ranil’s mother’s brother. Ranil’s nephew Ruwan Wijewardene is currently on the board of directors of that newspaper group. Ranil has been planting fake news through ‘Irida Lankadeepa’ newspaper for a long time to create crises in other parties or to adjust the political environment to his liking. There is a gang inside the daily and Sunday Lankadeepa that is ready for the same. We exposed many of these in our previous editions.
Ranil has always done politics not with the people, but with the media. The result was that the people distanced themselves from Ranil and UNP, which had been a longstanding political party, now have fallen to the point of not a single MP representing the Parliament. Through this, not only the party but also Ranil disappeared. Despite being in the UNP leadership for 31 years since 1994, today the UNP is limited to a billboard only because of Ranil’s opportunistic politics with these newspapers.
However, when reading this news item published in the ‘Irida Lankadeepa’ newspaper, the way it was written and the facts included is a clear indication the information provided by Ranil’s office. Ranil must have thought by planting this false news item in Lankadeepa, a serious crisis would arise within the SJB and that the MPs would revolt against Sajith. However, after this news item was published over the weekend, something completely different happened. That is, the SJB MPs stood united against this news. They held a press conference and stated that the news published in the Lankadeepa newspaper was completely false.
Harsha-Kabir’s game
With this incident, some within the party rising doubts as to whether there was any connection between the dinner hosted by the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Ms. Julie Chang, for Ranil, Sagala Ratnayake, Harsha de Silva and Kabir Hashim last week. Because neither Kabir nor Harsha had informed their party leader Sajith in advance that they were going to meet the US Ambassador with Ranil and Sagala. Sajith also received information about this when it was reported at the same time that Kabir and Harsha were holding a special discussion with the US Ambassador with Ranil and Sagala.
It is well known within the party that Kabir and Harsha are two people who have launched several unsuccessful operations to remove Sajith from the party leadership and seize the leadership of the SJB on several occasions. In addition, we have reported several attempts made to seize the opposition leadership, the discussions held in this regard, and the participants in them in this column.
Many have also accused these two and their close associate Iran Wickramaratne of being the reason for the decline of the SJB in the past. Many have accused them in the past that the way these three acted was a major obstacle to Sajith’s political rise. It is a well-known fact that during the two and a half years that Ranil was the President, these three met Ranil frequently and made deals with him. SJB MPs had also taken steps to report this to Sajith on several occasions.
However, later, when the actions of these three were revealed to the SJB, many of the MPs who stood for Sajith had informed Sajith that they would stand for Sajith at any time, and that if anyone wanted to leave the party, they should be allowed to do so. This also resulted in the same game that was played by Ranil to capture these MPs. On the other hand, after the conspiracy of these MPs was exposed, Sajith became stronger within the party.
On the other hand, Ranil is also being strongly pressured from within the UNP to join the SJB and move forward politically. The few senior members of the UNP who are currently present have also informed Ranil that he should join the SJB and move forward under Sajith’s leadership. But Ranil knows very well that if he does so, he will not be able to achieve any of his political goals. By now, Ranil’s only dream is to bring his brother-in-law Ruwan Wijewardene to the top of the party. He is to hand over the highest responsibility of the party to Sagala Ratnayake, who is close to him. But Ranil knows very well that if he joins forces with the SJB, both his dreams will be dashed. That is why Ranil’s plan is to show that there is a crisis in the SJB by publishing false news that there are conspiracies within it.
Ranil’s attempt to enter
In addition, we have now received information about another conspiracy targeting this operation. Accordingly, the conspiracy operation has been to have Ranil back in the Parliament from the national list.
For Ranil to return to Parliament, a national list MP from the cylinder that contested in the last election must resign. Currently, the cylinder has 2 national list MP positions, and Ravi Karunanayake and Faizer Mustafa have entered Parliament from cylinder.
For Ranil to enter Parliament, either Ravi or Faizer must resign from Parliament. For that too, Ranil has already launched an operation and has started to exert pressure on Ravi Karunanayake through several foreign embassies in the country that are friendly with him.
In addition, the latest information is that Ranil has now started making regular phone calls to Ravi Karunanayake, who he had previously sidelined. It is also reported that Ranil, who spoke to Ravi in a very cordial and friendly manner, has sought advice from him on certain matters. It is also learned that Ranil is discussing current politics with Ravi through these calls.
In the midst of all this, it is also reported that Ranil is calling astrologers close to him and seeking astrological advice. Ranil ask the astrologers whether he will get a chance of coming back to power is there is a planetary alignment that indicate such possibilities.
Simultaneously, Ranil has also started a propaganda campaign with Vajira and his friends to claim that the government will collapse. It is also said that Vajira and his team are saying everywhere that there is a possibility of a serious economic crisis emerging again by the end of this year, and that Ranil will definitely become President once again.
Over the weekend Ranil’s game plan through newspapers were exposed and were over. As if there is good in every bad thing, what ultimately happened from all these conspiracies was that not only the MPs within the SJB, but even the MPs at the grassroots level of the SJB decided to stand together with Sajith.
It was also decided to take action against the MPs who were conspiring against the party leadership from within the party. We are ready to reveal another special fact from this column. That is, the day is not far when these grassroots local government SJB MPs will stand up against the conspirators who are acting treacherously against the party and the party leadership.
Ranil-Harini deal?
In addition, a topic of discussion in the political arena these days has been whether there is some kind of deal between Harini and Ranil. The reason for this is that Harini and Ranil’s names have been mentioned together in a number of incidents.
In the past, we have revealed information about the deal between the two from time to time through this column. There, we reported information about a discussion that had to be held between Ranil and Harini at a major temple that conducts political activities in Colombo, and about the occasions when Harini visited that temple.
In addition, we reported information through this column about an attempt made by the Pathfinder Institute owned by Milinda Moragoda to invite Harini as the chief guest at an event that Ranil was also scheduled to attend. While there is a lot of talk in the political arena about such deals, some are now expressing their opinions on the new education reforms presented by Harini, saying that Harini has also presented the same education reform paper that Ranil brought in the year 2023.
As everyone knows, one of the main reasons that paved the way for the killing of 60,000 youths during 88-89 was the education white paper brought by Ranil, who was the then Minister of Education. At that time, the JVP took the youth to the streets by raising strong opposition against it. But today, the accusation has been made that Harini has also taken steps to bring this same education reform white paper brought by Ranil to the fore in a different way. That was also a reason to raise doubts among many about the Harini-Ranil deal.
In addition, while Ranil launched a massive attack on Sajith using his family’s media, Harini, as Prime Minister, simultaneously launched another attack on Sajith. This was based on the appointment of a committee through a cabinet paper to investigate the alleged irregularities in the Central Cultural Fund during Sajith’s tenure as Minister. This incident has also raised doubts among many about the Harini-Ranil deal.
A serious disturbance has arisen in society regarding the new education reforms brought by Harini. The first to protest against it was Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiriya, who is considered a theoretician of the Malima government.
Nirmal said that the government had removed the subjects of history and aesthetics from the education reforms. After that, the University Teachers’ Association, the University Students’ Association, and the Teachers’ Association had expressed their opinions against it.
But the question is whether the JVP will receive the necessary support for these educational reforms that Harini has planned to bring. The President, who was silent during the initial round of strong opposition, expressed his views on the matter for the first time in his speech in Parliament. There, the President said that this is not a process of an individual, but a task that everyone should do together. The President also invited all members of the opposition to participate in it.
When the Opposition Leader asked the government for a white paper on educational reforms, Bimal also said that no such white paper has been prepared, and that there is only a ‘PowerPoint presentation’ presented by Harini. That is why many people are raising doubts about whether the JVP is 100% honest regarding Harini’s educational reforms.
On the other hand, many politicians from both parties and the opposition had participated in the last rites of the Anunayake Thero of the Asgiri Maha Viharaya, and many views were exchanged there regarding these new education reforms. At that time, the monks representing the Malwatte and Asgiri factions had requested the Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa that there was strong opposition in society regarding the removal of the history subject, and that he should appear in Parliament against it. At that time, Sajith had also informed the Thero that he had also expressed his views in Parliament expressing his opposition to it. At that time, Sajith had informed the Thero that since the Prime Minister was also scheduled to come to pay her last respects to the body of the Asgiri Anunayake Thero, he would also inform her of this.
Milinda Lanza resurfaces
It is a common occurrence in politics that new characters emerge from time to time. Sometimes the characters that emerge hold on for a while, while some characters can be seen going up and down like fizz of a broken soda bottle. This is about one such character that emerges from time to time in politics. It is none other than Milinda Moragoda.
Milinda is a character who has worked under several presidents. Milinda, who came to politics from the UNP, became a key figure in the group of 17 who approached Mahinda when Ranil was the Leader of the Opposition. Thereafter, under the United People’s Freedom Alliance, Milinda contested the Colombo Municipal Council against the UNP’s A.J.M. Muzammil. Milinda was defeated.
After that, Milinda, who was not seen in the political arena for a while, returned to the political scene after Gotabaya became the President. At that time, Gota appointed Milinda as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India with the powers of a cabinet minister. Milinda was the first and only High Commissioner to go to India with such powers. After Ranil came to power after Gota, Milinda rekindled his friendship with Ranil. Milinda had also launched a behind-the-scenes operation to bring Harini with Ranil to an event organized by Milinda’s Pathfinder Institute recently.
However, Milinda, who had been silent behind the scenes, has once again become an active figure in the political arena these days. Milinda can be seen regularly meeting various politicians. Milinda has held several rounds of discussions with SLFP groups including Nimal Lansa, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, and groups that broke away from the Pohottuwa.
In addition, Milinda is said to have spoken to the leaders of minor parties. Although this information is not coming out in the media, many people in political circles have started commenting on this. Accordingly, a rumor circulating in those places is that Milinda is preparing to contest as the common candidate in the next presidential election. It is said that Milinda is preparing to contest the presidential election with Ranil’s blessing, as there seems to be a background of a greater demand for a figure with international connections in the next presidential election. However, it is not clear whether these rumors are true or not, but it is also said that these discussions are being held with the aim of building a massive political alliance.
In the political field another name coined with Milinda. That is Nimal Lansa. Although Lansa was initially a powerful figure who represented the Rajapaksa camp, Lansa later left it and leaned towards Ranil.
Generally, LANSA is considered a figure who can mobilize manpower and organizational strength for a cause. However, despite the talks with Milinda, LANSA is currently in a firm position that it will no longer do politics for Ranil under any circumstances.
LANSA’s position is that no matter what alliance is formed, it will not survive if it does not work with the main opposition, the SJB. Therefore, it is said that LANSA is focused on a journey to unite with the SJB by bringing all forces together, eliminating the weaknesses of the SJB, and joining forces with the SJB. Accordingly, it seems that the end of these talks between Milinda, LANSA and the group will most likely end in an alliance with the SJB.
Government in a new game
Last week, in the main headline of ‘Mawrata’, we said that if the government continues to fail to fulfill its promise to the country to abolish the executive presidency, the opposition has decided to bring a resolution and start a big fight for it. Within a few hours of our publishing this news, the political arena was seen in a state of turmoil. At the same time, a weekend English newspaper made another special revelation and said that the government was preparing to interfere with the independent commissions that were created after a big fight.
The same English newspaper specifically said that there was a discussion within the government to change the composition of the Constituent Assembly, the institution that has the decisive power to appoint people to high positions.
Throughout the past period, the Executive President had a large sole power to appoint people to high positions in the country. However, even if the President nominates individuals to the relevant positions based on the Constitutional Council established during the Yahapalana government, the nomination must be approved by the Constitutional Council.
For this basis, the Constitutional Council rejected many appointments to high positions on several occasions during the time of former President Ranil. The Constitutional Council had also rejected a recommendation made by the current President Anura Dissanayake for the position of Auditor General twice.
The relevant news item stated that the authorities are currently focusing on changing the composition of the Constitutional Council and making changes to the way the three independent representatives representing civil society are appointed. Although the government has not officially accepted this news yet, it is noteworthy that the government has not rejected it either.
However, the news item we uncovered emphasized the abolition of the executive presidency. The JVP has a long history of abolishing the executive presidency. After the failed rebellion of 1988-89, the JVP resurfaced and contested the presidential election for the first time in 1994. At that time, Nihal Galappaththi contested the presidential election on behalf of the JVP with the slogan of abolishing the executive presidency. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga contested the presidential election from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.
Nihal Galappaththi, informed Chandrika in a letter that if the executive presidency was abolished within 6 months, he would withdraw from the contest and give the party’s support to Chandrika.
Chandrika also accepted it and responded in writing. Accordingly, Nihal Galappathi made a statement to the country and withdrew from the presidential election candidacy. Although Chandrika won and served two terms as president, the executive presidency was not abolished.
SJB takes up the fight
In 2015, the JVP reluctantly supported the common candidate Maithripala because Maithri had also accepted the proposal to abolish the executive presidency. Unlike Chandrika, Maithri largely abolish the powers of the executive presidency after winning. He also reduced the 6-year term by one year. But Maithripala did not completely abolish the executive presidency.
Contesting the 2019 presidential election, one of the main slogans of Anura, the JVP candidate, was to abolish the executive presidency. When contesting the 2024 presidential election, Anura made a public promise to the country that he would abolish the executive. He included it in his policy statement. But now neither Anura nor the JVP is saying a word about it.
The allegations are that like Mahinda, like Ranil, Anura is working to increase his power by amending the articles in the way he wants.
As of last week, the SJB, as the main opposition, had decided to take up this slogan accordingly. Most of the SJB MPs are of the opinion that the executive should be abolished. Accordingly, the SJB has already decided to start this fight through several methods. Attending a media briefing last week, SJB MP Ajith P. Perera said that if the government breaks this promise given to the country, the SJB is ready to bring a motion to abolish the executive presidency to Parliament as a private member’s motion.
If the government does not fulfill that promise and is preparing to lay hands on the Constituent Assembly, the SJB is ready to start a fight against the government at both the national and international levels, Ajith P. Perera said. It is also said that the composition of the Legislative Council is likely to be changed before the term of office of the Legislative Council ends in January.
Last week, SJB MPs had also questioned Sajith regarding the abolition of the executive presidency, and Sajith also said that since the abolition of the executive is also the position of the SJB, the SJB should fight to fulfill that promise.
Gotabaya Hides
Last week, the President made a surprise visit to Kandy to inaugurate the newly constructed wax museum at the Ehelepola Walawwa. The construction of this wax museum was proposed during the time of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and steps were taken to allocate funds for it during Ranil’s time. However, after the President inaugurated the museum, a huge controversy arose in the Kandy area. The reason for this was that a wax statue of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, who killed Ehelepola Kumarihami, Weera Madduma Bandara, and his sister and brother, was also kept inside the museum.
Many people who expressed their opinions on this matter said that bringing King Rajasinghe, who killed the Ehelepola family, inside the Ehelepola Walawwa was not a very auspicious event. Many legends and myths are being discussed among the people of Kandy these days. There is also a rumor that a big discussion has arisen regarding the fact that a statue of Wariyapola Sumangala Thero has been placed inside the Ehelepola Walawwa.
However, after the President inaugurated this wax museum, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had also received a special invitation from the Dalada Maligawa. Accordingly, the news of Gota’s arrival at the Ehelepola Walawwa that night had also been leaked to the media.
By 6.30 pm, a large number of journalists had arrived at the Ehelepola Walawwa because it had been informed that Gotabhaya would be arriving at the place by 7.00 pm. However, Gota, who arrived in Kandy, came to know that journalists were waiting for him. Accordingly, Gota refrained from arriving at the place until 8.00 pm. Journalists had also waited until 7.30, thinking that Gota would not arrive, and left the Ehelepola Walawwa. However, Gota visited the wax museum at around 8.00 pm.
Billionaire to buy 6 Boeings
Last week, we reported on this column that the government was preparing to begin negotiations with the Trump administration to further reduce the 30% tariff imposed on Sri Lanka, and revealed that the negotiations would be held online.
Some media outlets and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath publicly stated that a special team was scheduled to leave for the United States to hold the relevant negotiations. However, we later confirmed our disclosure and said that the relevant discussions were held online.
Although the negotiations were planned to be concluded in two rounds before they began, it was seen that the negotiations dragged on for three rounds. However, throughout these discussions, it was seen that the United States was interested in the goods and services that Sri Lanka was preparing to purchase from the United States in order to reduce the trade balance, and their values.
Last week, we gave some indication of this and revealed that Sri Lanka is preparing to purchase 3 Boeing aircraft from the United States. However, at that time, we had not received any information regarding whether it would be acquired by Sri Lankan Airlines or by a private company. However, the information we have received so far indicates that Sri Lanka has decided to purchase not 3 Boeing aircraft but 6 Boeing aircraft from the United States.
This is not for Sri Lankan Airlines but for Expo Lanka, a well-known company in the country. The owner of Expo Lanka is the Governor of the Western Province, Mr. Mohamed Hanifa. However, he later took steps to resign from those positions after entering politics. Accordingly, the information currently available reports that Expo Lanka has decided to purchase these 6 Boeing aircraft in collaboration with a low-cost airline called Fitz Air. In addition, the government has also submitted proposals regarding the purchase of gas and oil from the United States.
Inside Politics prepared to reveal a latest on exports. It concerns a major company exporting goods to the US, which is facing a serious collapse due to Trump’s 30% tax. This company, which is facing a major setback due to the tax in question, has now decided to withdraw its companies established here and take them to India or another country in the region if no significant relief is received from these negotiations. It is also reported to the column that they have already initiated a round of negotiations in this regard.
Meanwhile, although the tax concessions to be received from Trump in the future have not yet been specifically announced, the government is hoping that Sri Lanka will receive a major concession this time. The Trump government has already reduced the tax imposed on Vietnam and Malaysia to 19%, and it is said that it will be further reduced to 12% for India. If that happens, there is a risk that Sri Lanka’s exports will suffer a serious collapse.
In addition, there is a question about buying oil from the United States. That is, if Sri Lanka buy oil from the United States, will China’s Sinopec continue to operate in Sri Lanka? Sinopec is already distributing oil in Sri Lanka in the midst of some crises. In such a background, if American oil enters the Sri Lankan market, Sinopec is also in some hesitation.
On the other hand, China has also reached an agreement with the government to build an oil refinery in Hambantota. However, it is also said that China has given a big message to the government regarding the future of the relevant project if it is ready to bring oil from the United States.
However, information available so far indicates that although the tax imposed by the Trump government was scheduled to take effect from August 1, the Trump government is considering postponing it by another 3 months. The government is hoping to reduce the 30% tax imposed by Trump by 50% to 15%. But if this situation drags on for another 3 months, the government is set to face another crisis. That is regarding the budget to be presented next September. Many are of the opinion that this tax will also have a decisive impact on the government’s budget.
