Shammy’s Resignation Sparks Talk of a Hidden Deal
Basil’s Return Signals Fresh Political Moves
Thalatha Used as Bait by Two Political ‘Ghosts’
The Ghosts Behind the Curtain
Shadow operators within the United National Party have repeatedly torpedoed reconciliation efforts between the two parties — and May Day became their latest battleground.
For some time now, this column has tracked two shadowy operators working within the United National Party (UNP) to undermine any prospect of reconciliation with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). Time and again, whenever meaningful cooperation between the two parties appeared within reach — with genuine efforts from the SJB leadership and several senior UNP figures—these two individuals intervened from behind the scenes, pulling strings and deploying various tactics to ensure that unity never materialised. On several occasions, this column has exposed their methods with evidence.
Sajith’s May Day Strategy
This time, the focal point was May Day. SJB leader Sajith Premadasa had been quietly nurturing a plan for months: to use the occasion as a formal platform to bring the two parties together, beginning with a direct invitation to the UNP to share the SJB’s May Day stage.
The moment the two political schemers realised what Sajith was preparing — and grasped that a shared stage would directly threaten their own survival and ambitions — they moved swiftly to disrupt the process.
Their opening gambit was reportedly the publication of an anonymous news report on the Lankadeepa website, owned by the family of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The report claimed that leading Buddhist monks had requested political parties to refrain from political activities on May Day, given that it coincided with the Vesak full moon poya day. Conspicuously, the report named not a single monk — not a chief incumbent, not even a junior novice. Public criticism was swift and sharp, and within hours the article was quietly removed by persons unknown.
Three Rounds of Talks
Undeterred, Sajith took personal ownership of the reunification effort through the SJB Working Committee, pursuing a measured, step-by-step strategy. In the first phase, he sat down with senior second-tier UNP leaders Ruwan Wijewardene, Navin Dissanayake, and Akila Viraj Kariyawasam at Taj Samudra. A separate meeting followed at the same venue with Sagala Ratnayaka. Subsequently, Sajith and SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara met UNP General Secretary Talatha Atukorale to advance the dialogue further.
The three rounds of talks kindled real hope among hundreds of thousands of rank-and-file members of both parties who had long wished to see their parties reunite.
Competing Agendas
Opposition to unity, however, did not come only from the two backroom operators. Ranil Wickremesinghe himself intervened at several points. According to those familiar with the situation, he acted mainly out of concern over the legal proceedings against him. Before those cases reached a conclusion, he was reportedly eager to prove that he still held enough political influence to engineer the reunion of the two parties on his own terms.
The two ghosts, meanwhile, had an altogether different calculation. Their preferred scenario for the next presidential election was not to field a conventional SJB or UNP loyalist as the opposition candidate, but to recruit an outside figure — a so-called “hired” candidate — and present that person as a unified opposition standard-bearer. A genuine SJB-UNP merger under Sajith’s leadership would render that scheme unworkable.
Sajith Presses Ahead
Sajith showed no sign of yielding to any of these pressures. Viewing May Day — with its mass gatherings running into the hundreds of thousands — as the ideal moment to give a reunion its greatest possible public resonance, he pressed ahead regardless.
Last Monday, for the first time, he made a formal public statement inviting both the UNP leadership and its supporters to join the SJB’s May Day rally. Hours later, Madduma Bandara dispatched an official letter from the SJB to Atukorale, extending the invitation in writing.
The move came against a backdrop of pointed scepticism. Atukorale had reportedly been telling various audiences that Sajith had no genuine interest in uniting the two parties and was merely stringing the UNP along. Even some within the SJB had begun voicing doubts about whether their own leader was truly committed to the cause.
Sajith’s response was the invitation itself — a public, documented gesture designed to let the occasion speak louder than any of his critics.
Talatha Starts Again
When the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) formally invited the United National Party (UNP) to join their May Day event, two ghosty figures within the UNP grew alarmed. They believed that if the two parties appeared together on May Day, it would undermine their own political agendas.
According to reports, these two individuals decided to use Talatha Atukorale to block the alliance from within.
Their first step was to approach former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and argue that the United National Party, by tradition, does not hold political activities on Poya days—and therefore, the invitation should be declined. They then put the same argument to Talatha Atukorale directly.
Talatha’s Recent Political Journey
To understand what happened next, it helps to look at Talatha’s recent political history.
At the start of the last presidential election campaign, Talatha was a member of the SJB. Around the time the election was announced, however, allegations emerged of a secret arrangement between Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Ranil Wickremesinghe, designed to help Anura win the presidency.
Part of that alleged strategy involved weakening Sajith Premadasa by pulling a prominent figure away from his party. Ranil is said to have done exactly that — bringing Talatha out of the SJB and back into his own political orbit shortly after the presidential election was called.
At the time, Talatha wrote a long public letter sharply attacking Sajith just before the election, then moved back to Ranil’s side. She continued to criticize Sajith from public platforms afterward. Many observers believe this played a significant role in Anura’s eventual election victory.
Same Playbook used again
Now, according to reports, the same two figures inside the UNP used Talatha once again — this time to derail the emerging unity between the SJB and UNP.
The result was that SJB and UNP supporters, who had hoped to see their parties formally come together on May Day following Sajith’s invitation, were left disappointed.
Without consulting the UNP Working Committee, the Management Committee, or senior party members, the two individuals reportedly arranged for Talatha to publicly announce that the UNP would not attend the SJB’s May Day rally.
Media Briefing Backfired
Talatha held a media briefing and stated that since May Day this year falls on Vesak Poya day, the UNP would refrain from political activity and would not be joining the SJB rally. Many viewed the tone of her statement as dismissive toward Sajith.
She also claimed — presenting it as a long-standing party principle — that even Sajith’s father, former President Ranasinghe Premadasa, had upheld the tradition of keeping the UNP out of politics on Poya days.
She then went a step further by publicly reading out the letter formally rejecting the SJB’s invitation.
Bomb Explodes
What Talatha and the two UNP figures apparently did not anticipate was how badly the statement would rebound on their own party. The move intended to embarrass the SJB ended up causing a crisis at Sirikotha, the UNP’s own headquarters.
The UNP, which once had a voter base of nearly five million, has seen that support shrink to an estimated 200,000 votes after 32 years under Ranil Wickremesinghe’s leadership and a string of heavy electoral defeats. Following Talatha’s announcement, members and supporters reportedly flooded Sirikotha with angry phone calls, criticizing both her remarks and the decision to stay away from the SJB rally.
Photograph with a different story
To make matters worse, photographs soon circulated online showing a large UNP political rally held in Gampaha on January 30, 2018 — which was Duruthu Poya day — with Ranil Wickremesinghe leading the event.
That evidence directly contradicted Talatha’s claim and turned what was meant to be a political strike against the SJB into an embarrassment for the UNP itself.
News Planters
The UNP’s decision to reject the SJB’s invitation did not only anger party supporters—it also provoked frustration among journalists and social media commentators who regularly defend the United National Party (UNP) online.
Many openly criticized the move on social media, calling it an ugly and unacceptable political act. At the same time, UNP supporters launched strong criticism through WhatsApp groups against the operation allegedly carried out by the two “ghosts” inside the party.
The backlash grew so intense during the past week that it began to resemble a rebellion among party supporters against these two figures.
Since many second-tier UNP leaders had no prior knowledge of Talatha’s statement, they quickly moved to inform Sajith Premadasa and clarify the situation. Some even used third-party intermediaries to send messages to him.
They all reportedly told Sajith the same thing: that Talatha’s remarks had never been discussed within the party, that they themselves had no knowledge she would make such a statement, and that no formal decision had been taken by the party to reject participation in the SJB May Day rally.
In fact, several senior UNP figures informed Sajith that despite the official rejection, they personally intended to attend the SJB May Day rally. They also said they were facing strong pressure from party supporters urging them to participate.
Sajith’s response
“I did all of this with genuine intention and honesty. I truly believe these two parties must come together. No matter what political disagreements existed, when this government moved to jail Ranil, I put everything aside and stood up for him for that very reason. But at that moment, Ranil’s ‘news plant gang’ was spreading false stories in his family-owned newspapers saying I was trying to send him to prison.
I have not acted dishonestly in this process. I took time because I believed May Day was the best day to unite these two parties. Even if a few people are trying to stop that unity, I will not allow it to be blocked in any way. We must come together and move forward together.”
This was the message Sajith delivered to every senior UNP figure who contacted him.
Raised serious questions
How could Talatha Atukorale make such a major statement without the knowledge of senior UNP leaders or without any formal discussion inside the party?
Who instructed her to do so?
Not even former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had publicly announced such a decision through any official party channel. No senior party member had been informed—not even by phone.
According to highly reliable internal sources, the message appears to have reached Talatha through what is described as Ranil’s “news planter” network operating inside his media unit.
These “news planters” are said to be individuals within Ranil’s media team who carry messages into the party and to the media, often using phrases such as, “Ranil said this…” or “Ranil asked for this to be said…”
They act as unofficial messengers between Ranil and senior UNP figures.
According to these reports, it was one such “news planter” who delivered the message to Talatha and encouraged her to make the announcement.
What makes the situation even more striking is that Ranil himself had not made such a statement through any official party forum. Yet the declaration was issued through Talatha without the knowledge of the UNP Chairman or other senior leaders—making the entire episode both politically damaging and deeply suspicious.
Ruwan and Harin Fights
Despite Talatha Atukorale issuing a statement declaring that the United National Party (UNP) would not participate in the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) May Day rally, senior figures within the UNP were not prepared to accept that decision. In particular, UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene and Deputy General Secretary Harin Fernando were unwilling to immediately accept the announcement issued by Talatha and her group.
As a result, on Wednesday night, both Ruwan and Harin met party leader and former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss the matter directly. During that discussion, both strongly pointed out to Ranil that party supporters were deeply angered and disturbed by the decision to reject the invitation to attend the SJB May Day rally.
The response
“Sir, this is completely a wrong decision. Right now, all our supporters want to see us move forward together with the SJB. When the official invitation for the May Day rally came, we could clearly feel the excitement among our supporters who contacted us.
But now the party has issued a statement saying we are not going. We were not even aware that such a decision had been taken. Our supporters are furious. If this continues, we won’t even be able to step onto the streets.”
In response, Ranil reportedly argued that the invitation had been extended not to the UNP as a party, but only to UNP supporters. He suggested that there was an issue with how the invitation letter had been worded.
However, Ruwan and Harin did not allow that argument to stand they retorted.
“That is not true, Sir. The invitation was made to the entire UNP. Besides, when we held our party convention at Sirikotha last time, we invited the SJB as well. Party General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara and Kabir Hashim came to Sirikotha and participated in our convention.
Why miss Mayday?
So why should we miss a special opportunity like May Day, where both parties can come together?”
Ranil responded by saying, “A party convention is one thing, a May Day rally is another.” Still, as Ruwan and Harin continued pushing for UNP participation, both of them reportedly realized something important:
Someone from outside had planted toxic political ideas in Ranil’s mind and convinced him that the UNP should stay away from the SJB May Day rally.
As they looked deeper into the matter, they reportedly discovered that two of the same internal “ghosts” within the UNP—along with a university professor from outside the party and the so-called “news planter” inside the UNP media unit—had worked together to drive this operation.
It was through this network that the anti-unity campaign had been carried out.
However, as Ruwan and Harin continued to strongly argue that the UNP must participate in the SJB May Day rally, Ranil eventually found it difficult to continue opposing the move.
In the end, he was forced to agree.
As a significant political development, Ranil finally granted permission for UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene to attend the SJB May Day rally on behalf of the party.
Sajith–Eran Meeting
Last week, in our ‘inside politics’ column, we made a major revelation: due to a series of political setbacks, the Compass government was preparing to make several popular decisions ahead of the May 1 rallies in an effort to restore public confidence and strengthen its political standing.
Among the key controversies were the resignation of Minister Kumara Jayakody over the low-quality coal issue, the purchase of diesel at the extremely high price of $286 per barrel, Minister K. D. Lalkantha’s luxurious three-story residence, and the transfer of $2.5 million from the Treasury into an unidentified account.
Faced with these political setbacks, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was said to have decided that one way to regain some public ground would be to remove Shammi Silva from the presidency of Sri Lanka Cricket.The proposed replacement was Eran Wickramaratne—a former SJB MP who also currently serves as a member of the SJB Working Committee and its Management Committee.
Private meeting
We concluded last week’s column by noting that because of the close personal relationship between the President and Shammi Silva, a special discussion between the two was expected before any final decision would be made. As talk of replacing Shammi with Eran gathered momentum, Eran reportedly sent a message to SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, saying that he wanted to discuss the matter personally.
He initially expressed a wish to meet Sajith at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition. However, by that time, Sajith had already received reports from various sources suggesting that Eran had met the President and reached a certain level of understanding regarding the appointment.Because of this, Sajith decided that the meeting should not take place at the Opposition Leader’s Office, but instead at a five-star hotel in Colombo.During that private discussion, Eran informed Sajith that the President had personally invited him to take over as Chairman of the Cricket Transformation Committee.
Eran told Sajith:
“From the very beginning, we fought a major political battle to clean up the cricket institution. You were the one who led that battle powerfully inside Parliament. Now I have received an invitation from the President to take over as Chairman of the Cricket Transformation Committee.
The President also wants to make this a place free from political interference. That is why I need your approval before accepting this position.”
In response, Sajith made it clear that his position had not changed at all.
Sajith replied:
“Yes, we fought from the beginning to make the cricket institution free from politics and corruption. That part is true.
But we have a clear principle here: no politician should be involved in cricket administration.
Cricket was destroyed because of political interference. That is why we have always said that this administration should not be handed to politicians, but to people who understand cricket—those who have played cricket and genuine cricket professionals.”
With that, Sajith firmly communicated to Eran that while reforming cricket remained important, placing politicians in charge of cricket administration would go against the very principles they had long defended.
If leaving leave
By that stage, Eran Wickramaratne had already indicated his agreement to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to accept the position as Chairman of the Cricket Interim Committee.
Because of that, he informed Sajith Premadasa that he had decided to step down from both the SJB Working Committee and the SJB Management Committee.
However, Eran also said that he intended to remain a member of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and that once he stepped away from his role in cricket administration in the future, he hoped to return and resume active political work with the party.
Sajith did not give a direct answer to that proposal at that moment.
Instead, he made it clear that he could not accept anyone entering cricket administration while still carrying an active political background.
Following the discussion between Sajith and Eran, further talks were arranged to discuss the situation in greater detail.
Meet Chairman and secretary
The next day, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, SJB Chairman Kabir Hashim, and Sajith’s close associate Lucky Fonseka met Eran for another discussion.
The meeting took place at Kabir’s residence in Colombo.
During that discussion, Eran once again explained to Madduma Bandara and Kabir why he had accepted the President’s invitation.
He also repeated that although he was ready to resign from the party committees, he still wished to remain an SJB member.
But both Kabir and Madduma Bandara firmly rejected that proposal.
Clear response
They told him:
“Eran, what you are accepting is an appointment from the President. If that is the case, you cannot continue to function with the SJB.
To put it plainly, you cannot hold on to SJB membership while accepting a position given by the President.
Once you go into cricket administration, the decisions you make may be right or wrong. They may succeed or fail. Some may be praised; others may be criticized.
But the SJB cannot take responsibility for any of those outcomes.
Therefore, if you are accepting a position from the President, you must leave the SJB first and then take that role.
If, after completing that responsibility, you wish to return to the SJB, we can discuss that at that time.”
This was the clear message delivered by both Kabir and Madduma Bandara to Eran, according to information received by the ‘inside politics’ column.
Shammi Meets Anura
While discussions were taking place between Eran Wickramaratne and senior Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) figures, a special meeting also took place last Friday night between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Shammi Silva, exactly as we reported last week.
Shammi was accompanied to the meeting by Sujeewa Godaliyadda, the Treasurer of Sri Lanka Cricket.
It is no secret to many that Shammi and the President have shared a very close personal relationship for years.
During former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s tenure, then Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe launched a major campaign to remove Shammi from the presidency of Sri Lanka Cricket. He even brought a motion against Shammi in Parliament.
Anura did not speak a single word against Shammi during the parliamentary debate. Not even the other two Compass MPs—Harini Amarasuriya and Vijitha Herath—were present in Parliament that day to vote against Shammi.
After Anura became President following the 2024 presidential election, he did not take action against Shammi during the following year and a half.
Indian approval
However, during Friday night’s discussion, the President directly informed Shammi that he wanted a change in cricket administration and asked him to step down from the presidency of Sri Lanka Cricket.
He also told Shammi that by Monday, everyone holding cricket administration positions should resign.
In response, Shammi said that such a move could not be completed by Monday. He added that while he was prepared to resign, he first needed to discuss the matter with the other office-bearers and the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket.
The President, however, insisted that Shammi should resign first and that he himself would take care of removing the others afterward.
Shammi again stressed that there should be no unnecessary conflict and requested time until Wednesday, saying that by then he and the others would step down after discussions with the Executive Committee and members of the cricket board.
After reaching agreement on that matter, the two continued a lengthy discussion about the state of Sri Lanka Cricket itself.
Shammi explained that the board was currently facing financial difficulties due to the reduction in international tours coming to Sri Lanka.
He also pointed out that although a cricket series with India had been planned for the middle of this year, India had still not granted the necessary approval.
Reaffirm Indian tour
In response, President Anura told Shammi that he would personally speak with Indian authorities and make the necessary arrangements for the series to go ahead.
Through that response, the President appeared to signal—without saying it directly—that he had stronger influence in India than many people assumed.
It is already widely known that Shammi has a very close relationship with Jay Shah, the current Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) who is an Indian national.
Yet the President’s reply seemed to imply that he knew even more powerful figures in India than Jay Shah himself.
The two also exchanged views on the proposed interim cricket committee.
Shammi reportedly told the President that if an interim committee was to be appointed, four or five members from the current cricket administration should also be included.
He is said to have even provided the President with the names of several individuals for consideration.
However, according to information received by the ‘inside politic’ column, the President showed no clear agreement with that proposal.
Still, by the end of the meeting, Shammi reportedly gave the President a firm assurance: that he and the others were prepared to step down and provide full cooperation for the appointment of a new interim cricket committee in line with the President’s wishes.
Only Three Months
Although Shammi Silva ultimately agreed to support President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and step down from his position, neither he nor the other officials simply resigned at the President’s request without careful planning.
Today, through the ‘inside politics’ column, we reveal that within another three months, the public may come to know a major development regarding this entire episode.
As soon as the President requested that Shammi step down as President of Sri Lanka Cricket, Shammi’s first move was to seek legal advice from one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent and respected President’s Counsel.
At the same time, he also held several telephone conversations with his close associate Jay Shah, Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), to discuss the matter.
Accordingly, Shammi submitted his resignation based not only on legal advice from senior counsel, but also following guidance received from Jay Shah.
ICC decides?
That leads to the next important question: Now that Eran Wickramaratne has taken over as Chairman of the Cricket Interim Committee, how long will he actually remain in that position? According to reports, during the initial discussions between Eran and the President, Eran had requested a full one-year term.
But who decides that timeline—the President or the ICC?
According to the information available to us, the real decision lies not with the President, but with the ICC.
When the President proposed the appointment of an interim cricket committee, the ICC reportedly informed Sri Lanka that such an arrangement could only be approved for a maximum period of three months, and that a formal cricket election must be held within that time.
This means that although Eran requested one year, he has reportedly been granted only a three-month term in accordance with ICC guidance.
There are also reports that the President indicated a further three-month extension could be considered depending on the progress made during the initial period.
But for now, the confirmed term is only three months.
That raises another critical question:
What happens if no election is held after those three months?
Could Sri Lankan cricket once again face suspension, similar to what happened in 2023?
There is still no final answer to that. However, with the appointment of the interim committee, two special ICC representatives are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka within the next few days.
They are expected to review all appointments made to the interim committee and help determine both its legitimacy and the duration of its mandate.
In other words, Eran’s political and administrative future may depend entirely on whether he can clean up Sri Lanka Cricket and stabilize the institution within those three months.
Eran resigns
Meanwhile, after accepting the chairmanship of the interim committee, Eran formally sent a letter to Ranjith Madduma Bandara confirming that he was stepping down from the SJB Working Committee and the Management Committee.
However, even in that letter, Eran stated that he intended to remain a member of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Upon receiving the letter, the SJB immediately sought legal advice.
Following that, Madduma Bandara formally informed Eran that if he was accepting the post of Chairman of the Cricket Interim Committee, he must also resign from SJB membership itself.
So far, however, Eran has not responded to that demand.
On the other side, while handing over the interim committee to Eran, President Anura also appears to have taken steps to shield himself from possible criticism by including respected cricketing names such as Kumar Sangakkara, Roshan Mahanama, and Sidath Wettimuny in the proposed interim administration.
However, when Eran went to the Sports Ministry to formally assume office, none of these well-known former players were present.
As of Thursday (30), when this article was being prepared, none of them had publicly confirmed that they had accepted those positions either.
Government Says No
The main political issue that heated up last week was the report that US$2.5 million had gone missing from the Treasury.
The matter first came to national attention after lawyer Maithri Gunaratne publicly revealed details about it. Once the issue surfaced, the opposition quickly seized on it and began building strong public pressure against the government.
During the Cabinet media briefing, another revelation followed. Minister Nalinda Jayatissa stated that a separate sum of US$600,000—allegedly paid by Sri Lanka’s Department of Posts Sri Lanka to the United States postal authorities—had also gone missing in a similar manner.
This became yet another issue added to the opposition’s growing campaign against the government.
With Parliament scheduled to meet the following week, the opposition decided that the missing Treasury funds issue must be brought directly into the parliamentary chamber.
Massive Protest
Previously, during the low-quality coal controversy, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) had successfully taken control of the political narrative by organizing massive protests outside Parliament on the same day the no-confidence motion was debated.
Many believed the Treasury dollar scandal should be handled in the same way.
Last week, Opposition Chief Organizer Gayantha Karunathilaka met Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa to discuss the issue. Sajith made it clear that the opposition should demand a full one-day parliamentary debate on the matter.
Following that, Gayantha consulted with other opposition party leaders and attended the party leaders’ meeting better prepared than usual.
At that meeting, opposition leaders formally requested one full day of debate on the missing Treasury funds issue.
Government evades
But to the surprise of many, the government flatly refused.
Their argument was that during that same parliamentary week, the President of Vietnam was scheduled to address the Sri Lankan Parliament, leaving no room for such a debate.That response made the party leaders’ meeting highly heated and confrontational.Before Gayantha attended the meeting, Sajith had specifically instructed him to report back immediately once it ended.So as soon as the meeting concluded, Gayantha called Sajith and informed him that the government had refused to grant the debate requested by the opposition.
Sajith’s response was immediate: hold a press conference and tell the country.
Sajith said:
“Normally, we do not call media briefings to reveal what happens inside party leaders’ meetings. But this is a serious issue.The whole country is talking about this incident, and the government is refusing to allow a debate.That means we must immediately inform the public.”
Following that instruction, Gayantha called the media that very night and publicly accused the government of trying to suppress and hide the issue.This raises the bigger question:Does refusing a one-day debate mean the Treasury dollar scandal is over? Does the Compass government believe that by avoiding debate, the issue will simply disappear?
Public trust at stake
Even many who helped bring the Compass government to power expressed concern on social media, saying that public trust in democratic governance was being further damaged by such actions.
Some even referred to the old political saying:
“When there is intelligence, there is no power. When there is power, there is no intelligence.”
Many argued that if the government had simply allowed a one-day debate, the matter could have been openly discussed and politically contained.
But by avoiding the debate, the government has instead created the impression that it has something to hide—an impression that is now difficult to erase.
Meanwhile, the opposition has quietly begun discussions with other opposition parties about what action should be taken next.
Last week, senior opposition figures held special discussions on how to respond.
Many argued that if the government was willing to break parliamentary tradition in this way, then the opposition too must respond by stepping outside traditional political boundaries.
Several proposals have already been put forward by different opposition parties, and according to reports, agreement has already been reached on some of the strongest options.
Interestingly, this issue has also brought together several opposition leaders who had previously been on bad terms.
Old political rivalries appear to be fading.
Some leaders who had barely spoken face-to-face are now reportedly speaking directly by phone.
All signs suggest that when Parliament meets on the 5th, there could be a major political showdown inside the chamber.
JVP Brigade in Action
Last week, a group led by Sugishwara Bandara, the former personal secretary to ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, staged a protest in front of the residence of Finance Ministry Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma. During the demonstration, they were attacked with cow dung and eggs.
Later, they lodged a complaint at the Talangama Police Station, alleging that groups linked to the JVP were behind the attack. As the incident became a major topic of discussion across the country last week, many began questioning whether this was an example of certain statements made earlier by government leaders now being put into action.
One of the first remarks people pointed to was a statement once made by JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva during a commemoration event at Viharamahadevi Park. He had declared that if a thousand people came to the streets against the government, a hundred thousand would be ready to come out to defend it. Tilvin made that statement shortly after the SJB had organized an anti-government rally.
Volunteer youth brigade
In addition, a few days ago, government MP Dinidu Saman Hennayake from Badulla made a similar statement. He revealed that the NPP planned to establish a volunteer youth brigade in every village. According to him, 30 young people from each village would be recruited into this force, with the pilot project beginning in Badulla.
Because of the dung attack on Sugishwara Bandara’s group in Pelawatte, serious concerns have now emerged over whether organized groups are being created, as suggested by senior NPP figures, to suppress protests against the government. If true, many believe this would be an extremely dangerous development.
As the whole country remembers, it was similar incidents that escalated the uprising against Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Although the ‘Aragalaya’ protest initially remained peaceful, it turned violent only after mobs that emerged from Temple Trees attacked the protesters. In the end, nearly 100 houses belonging to government ministers and MPs were set on fire, and Polonnaruwa District MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala was beaten to death on the roadside.
Many believe that if the dung attack in Pelawatte was driven by a similar motive, the consequences could be equally dangerous.
People are also questioning whether the government’s decision to initially hold only three May Day rallies, before later expanding them to cover all 21 districts, was aimed at strengthening these newly formed brigades at district level.
Basil is Coming Back
While the government was carrying out its political strategies in this manner, another surprising development emerged from the opposition last week—this time centered around Basil Rajapaksa, widely regarded as the chief strategist of the SLPP.
Following the SLPP’s defeats in both the presidential and parliamentary elections, many assumed Basil would remain politically silent for good. His departure to the United States before the defeat seemed to confirm that belief.
However, a special development last week created fresh suspicion that Basil may be preparing for a political comeback. This was due to a special video released on social media by the SLPP.
Political journey
The lengthy video focused entirely on Basil’s political journey. It highlighted how he entered politics, joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, worked closely with former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, became a close associate of Anura Bandaranaike, played a key role in securing Mahinda Rajapaksa’s victory over the UNP candidate in 2005, supported the war effort, and contributed to national development through programs such as Maga Neguma and Divi Neguma.
The video was professionally produced and strongly suggested that it had been created under Basil’s own direction.
Although it was first shared on social media, it did not receive much public attention. As a result, last week Basil reportedly began personally forwarding it via WhatsApp to his close associates in Sri Lanka. The “Rajya Rahas” column also received a copy.
As the saying goes, before the sacred casket is carried in the procession, the drummers walk ahead to announce its arrival. Basil has always been that kind of politician—someone who first prepares the ground before making a move.
Whether this means Basil is preparing to reclaim an active political role is still too early to say, but many now suspect that the former strategist is once again testing the political waters.
