While MR was losing the PM game… BR won the governors game.
A crucial meeting to select the next presidential candidate from the SJB
Sumanthiran reveals RW’s and Wigi’s secret alliance.
Last week, we revealed in our ‘Inside Politics’ column that former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had requested the President to re-appoint him as Prime Minister on April 18. Following that, we informed the country about a number of incidents related to this. But when we reported on this from time to time, and when some media asked Pohottuwa General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam and other Pohottuwa seniors about it, we saw that they are not only acting in front of the media by hiding the truth, but also telling fairy tales.
‘We have not asked for the prime minister ship’, ‘the false stories of the media’, ‘Mr. Mahinda takes positions from the people, he does not take positions behind the scenes’ etc., while those people told the media one by one, we are very responsibly claim that Mahinda has launched a campaign to get the position of prime minister. A political operation was being launched behind the scenes and because of that, it has become a fierce conflict within the Rajapaksa family.
Scheme to get the Premiership
While uncovering information in this regard, at one point we also disclosed how Namal worked to implement another plan against it. Namal had gone to meet the President and told him not to give the Prime Minister ship to Mahinda, but to give the Prime Minister ship to Sajith, and then he and Pohottuwa would go to the opposition and work to get the opposition leadership. However, after many rounds of discussions within the Rajapaksa family, we revealed that Namal agreed Mahinda getting the prime minister ship, then to form a government with Pohottuwa and get a ministry in that government.
Basil vs Yoshita
Also, we revealed last week that there has been a fierce disagreement between Basil and Yoshita over the prime minister ship. The reason for this was that while Yoshita was adamant that Mahinda should get the prime minister ship, Basil was of the position that the party does not want the prime minister ship at this moment. Accordingly, we reported that after the heated exchange of words between Yoshita and Basil, Basil suddenly left for Dubai, and then the Basil-Yoshita conflict was settled after an exchange of messages through a third party.
Information has been reported to the ‘ Inside Politics ‘ column that Basil finally went to Dubai after a special discussion with the President. It has now been confirmed that there has been a lengthy exchange of views between the President and Basil regarding getting the Prime Minister ship, ministerial positions, and appointing governors. It is very clear when we look at the removal and new appointments of governors. After the discussion with the President, Basil had called one of the governors on three occasions and informed them that there were preparations to remove him and not to get panic.
Basil’s new governors
On the other hand, the three new governors who were appointed are very close friends of Basil. Mrs. Charles, who was appointed to the north, had previously been the governor of the north because of Basil’s friendship. Gota had removed her but; Basil had intervened and requested Gota to appoint her as a member of the Election Commission. The same is the story of Lakshman Yapa.
While Basil was the Minister of Economic Development, Lakshman Yapa was its Deputy Minister. Although Lakshman Yapa lost the general election and went home, Basil brought him in and made him his advisor while he was the finance minister. The same is true of Sendil Thondaman, who was appointed as the Governor of the East. It was Sendil who negotiated with Basil to keep Thondamans with Pohottuwa all the time. Accordingly, for the past few days, there have been reports in the media that UNP seniors, who were defeated by the voters, will be appointed to these governor positions, but looking at the names of the new governors, it is clear that Basil has something to do with it.
Will Dinesh give up?
However, the current Prime Minister Dinesh is facing a problem in the matter of Prime Minister ship. When close friends asked Dinesh about this, Dinesh said that since the mandate is with Mahinda, he is ready to leave the prime minister ship and give Mahinda the opportunity. But Mahinda has not yet officially notified Dinesh in this regard. Instead, Mahinda had only sent messages about this to Dinesh through third party.
Sagara says no!
However, by last week, this prime ministerial battle had progressed to another stage. This was after a telephone conversation between Basil in Dubai and the President. After this discussion, a telephone discussion was held between Basil and Mr. Sagala Ratnayake, Senior Advisor to the President. The Prime Minister ship has also been discussed here again and Basil has said that Pohottuwa as a party does not need the Prime Minister ship at the moment. Also, it can be inferred that there was a discussion about the people who are of the opinion that the prime minister ship is necessary. But because the party is still in the possession of Basil and the party secretary general is a follower of Basil, when the media asked Sagara about this last week, Sagara said that the party has not made any request regarding the post of Prime Minister.
However, information has been reported about the telephone conversation between Basil and the President and the matters that were discussed there, and those who are now in the position that the Prime Minister ship is necessary. As a result, there was a big fuss among them saying that Basil had sabotaged the prime minister ship. Accordingly, even though the Prime Minister’s mission has been somewhat suppressed, it remains like sparks under the ashes from time to time. No matter what fairy tales anyone tells, that is the true story about the Prime Minister ship.
Indian influence in Sri Lanka
It is known for many people who understand politics that India plays a big role behind the scenes in the overthrow of the governments and the establishment of new governments in Sri Lanka. After winning the war in 2009 and winning a great victory in 2010, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government were defeated and went home within 05 years, this followed allowing two Chinese submarines to enter Sri Lanka despite Indian objections. Also, India did not like the launch of large-scale projects together with China, despite India being the closest neighbour. The end result is that Mahinda lost both the presidency and the government.
Collapse of good governance
The good governance government that came to power in 2015 too was the same. Initially, the Yahapalan government dealt closely with India, but later as Mahinda’s government started working closely with China. The result was that the background was prepared for the collapse of the government from within the good governance government.
However, after Gota’s escape, Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe became the President, but the President also had to create a big conflict with India at the beginning. It was through allowing the Yuan Wang 5, a Chinese spy ship, to enter Sri Lanka amid strong opposition from India. This nudge went so far that usually when a new President or Prime Minister of Sri Lanka becomes the first to go to India, Ranil lost that opportunity. Ranil tried to organize a meeting with the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on many occasions through various parties, but the situation got so bad that India rejected all of them.
Solution to North and East
Finally, realizing the seriousness of the situation, the President resorted to some old practices to befriend India. The first of which was to make a public statement that he would provide a solution to the political issue of Northern and Eastern, which India has been demanding since then. Accordingly, the President said that a political solution will be provided to the North-East problem by the month of April. The President also took steps to hold another round of negotiations with the Tamil National Alliance, which is recognized by India as the sole representative of the North and East. But by April, there was no political solution to the North and East issue. The discussions with the Tamil National Alliance also ended without a solution.
What happens to Indian visit?
Also when Indian Foreign Minister Mr. S. Jeyshankar came to Sri Lanka, the President had also promised to hold the North East Provincial Council elections, in addition to providing a political solution to the North East problem. It is a special incident that even though the President received an official invitation to visit India after that promise, India decided not to give him time until the promises were fulfilled.
TNA talks with President
However, two weeks ago, under this background, the President had once again taken steps to start a round of negotiations with the Tamil National Alliance. There, the President had taken steps to give two rounds of discussion to the Tamil MPs in the North and separately to the Tamil MPs in the East. But when this situation was reported, the Tamil National Alliance strongly protested and pointed out to the President that if the problem of the North is discussed, it should be discussed as one, not separately with North and the East, and that all MPs should be called together. Accordingly, the President finally had to agree to the conditions of the Tamil Alliance. Accordingly, the President gave one day to discuss the division of power based on the North East problem and another day to discuss reconciliation.
New Constitution?
According to that date, when the Tamil Alliance went to the President’s Secretariat to meet the President, other Tamil MPs and representatives of civil organizations from the North East were also present. Representing the Tamil National Alliance, Sumanthiran and other MPs joined the discussion with the reports of the discussions held with the President in December and January as well as the draft of the new constitution prepared by the President when he was the Prime Minister. Accordingly, they informed the President that what is needed for the North East issue is a division of power through a new constitution under the right of global self-determination.
Wigi’s opinion
But here, the Member of Parliament for the North, who participated in the discussion, Mr. C.V. Wigneswaran was seen speaking presenting a report with a slightly different position. Wigneswaran said there that the 13th Constitution should be fully implemented and certain parts of it should be amended.
However, the same report that Wigneswaran was presenting was already in the hands of the President and the members of the Tamil National Alliance including Sumanthiran could see it. Accordingly, Sumanthiran and his team naturally had the suspicion that a meeting between the President and Wigneswaran had definitely taken place before this meeting, and that Wigneswaran had given this report to the President.
Wigneswaran prior meeting
Therefore, Sumanthiran immediately found out who signed the report. There, Sumanthiran noticed that Wigneswaran was the only one who had signed it as an opposition member of parliament. Sumanthiran also saw that all the other Tamil and Muslim MPs were with the government. Also, Sumanthiran saw a way that even the members of the parties that are not registered as political parties have signed it.
TNA oppose Wigneswaran’s proposal
Accordingly, Sumanthiran immediately took steps to express his objection to Wigneswaran’s report. But despite that, although the President proposed to appoint a committee to further study Wigneswaran’s report, the Tamil National Alliance strongly protested against it. They pointed out that the relevant report is not acceptable, and setting up more committees based on such a report will only prolong the discussions.
We will participate in these activities only if the drafting of a new constitution begins. Apart from that, it is futile to participate in discussions related to administrative matters. We will not join such new committees. Our basic request is to prepare a new constitution and hold the provincial council elections as soon as possible. If both of those things don’t happen, there is no point in continuing these discussions…’ was what Sumanthiran said to the President’s directly.
Accordingly, it was seen that the discussion started by the President in another round regarding providing a political solution to the problem in the North ended without any outcome.
PUC chairman vs the government
These days, the government has become a insufferably afraid of a single person who has nothing to do with politics. He is none other than Mr. Janaka Ratnayake who was the chairman of the Public Utilities Commission. Janaka Ratnayake is the chairman appointed by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the Public Utilities Commission. Janaka, who was a completely independent character, from the day he became the chairman of the commission, was on the side of the people and fought to decide the electricity bill in a way that was beneficial to the people.
After the appointment of the current President Ranil Wickramasinghe, Kanchana Wijesekara was appointed as the Minister of Power. From the day Kanchana took office, there were various disagreements between Kanchana and Janaka due to the minister following the instructions of the International Monetary Fund. Therefore, Kanchan and Janakat publicly expressed their views against each other on many occasions. When Kanchana lashed out at people on Twitter, Janaka publicly called a press conference and attacked Kanchana.
Oppose the electricity rate hike
Consolidating this conflict, once when Janaka was on a private trip to Australia, suddenly the police came to Janaka’s office and proceeded to seal the office, claiming to protect the documents there. Janaka issued a statement to the media from Australia and strongly condemned it. Meanwhile, a strong disagreement arose between Kanchana and Janaka with Kanchana working to increase the electricity bill by 66%. There, Janaka strongly said that this is a very unfair price hike that it is not necessary to raise the price to such an extent, and the people will be severely affected by this.
Janaka’s fight !
In addition to this, when the government cut off the electricity late at night during the last Advanced level examination period , Janaka fought against it, saying that through this, the students studying for the examination would be in dire straits. Accordingly, Janaka has become the hero of the people and has been praised by the people. Janaka was also known as someone who strongly opposed the restructuring of the Electricity Board.
Sack Janaka!
The end result of this was that the President and Kanchana decided to remove Janaka from that position. Although the government tried to do this on many occasions, all those occasions failed when Janaka declared that he was not ready to leave the post. Janaka had publicly stated that if the government wanted to remove him, who had fought being on the side of the people, have to remove through a motion in Parliament according to the existing law.
According to the constitution, if the Chairman of the Utilities Commission does not resign, he can be removed after obtaining a majority of 113 members present in the Parliament. Accordingly, the President informed Kanchana in the first round to get a letter signed by 113 members of the government and take steps to remove Janaka.
The game plan!
Despite the President’s statement, Kanchan and the chief organizer of the ruling party, Prasanna Ranatunga, did not show much interest in it. They knew that the government would have to face a serious crisis if they could not get 113 signatures against Janaka, Accordingly, in the end, Ranil decided to present a proposal to the Parliament by stealth and ask for a parliamentary vote without debate and remove Janaka . Generally, if a motion is presented to the parliament, the motion should be kept in the agenda for five days before it is debated and voted on. But the government is also capable of suspending the standing orders without presenting a motion and presenting the proposal and holding the vote without debate. Accordingly, the government decided to play the game and remove Janaka from the post.
One day debate on Janaka
Accordingly, the government had planned to bring this proposal to the party leaders’ meeting against Janaka to the Parliament week where the debate regarding the Express Pearl ship was to be held. As per the plan, the opposition leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa and the chief organizer of the opposition, Mr. Lakshman Kiriella, strongly protested against it and said that if the government is prepared to evict Janaka, a motion should be submitted and the opposition should be given a debate on it. Although the government expressed its opinion against it, in the face of the arguments of the opposition party leaders, the government had to change its previous position. Accordingly, the government was forced to hold a one-day debate on Janaka on the 24th.
Pohottuwa oppose ?
Accordingly, with this incident, Janaka Ratnayake became one of the main topics in the political field as of last week. The reason for that was because the government definitely wanted to find the majority of 113 MPs to evict Janaka by the 24th. The signs that this is turning into a bit of a challenge came when a group of MPs from Pohottuwa, who are popular with the people, met former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former minister Namal Rajapaksa and informed that they could not support the proposal that the government is preparing to bring.
This group included about 20 MPs and they informed Mahinda and Namal that they could not vote against Janaka as he was appointed by the leaders of their party and he fought against the increase in electricity bills. In addition to this, the group of MPs from Pohottuwa informed Mahinda and Namal that the government should be taught a lesson at this time as the government is continuing to lie and divide Pohottuwa. We reported this as a special news on our website, mawratanews website.
Govt. short of 113?
As we reported this, the government got distressed and took steps to inquire about it. The reason for this was that the government had a group of 120 MPs, but it was realized that the government would have to face a serious crisis if a group of 20 people abstained from voting against the proposal. On the other hand, 10 ministers of the ruling party are currently abroad. Accordingly, if the government does not get the support of thirty people, only 90 MPs will be left. Accordingly, as of last week, the government initiated a big battle to somehow find the 113 MPs.
Ministers prevented from overseas travel!
The first incident of this was seen in the cabinet meeting. In the cabinet meeting held last Monday, four ministers had requested permission to go abroad for various purposes. Those four were Ali Sabri, Vijayadasa Rajapaksa, Bandula Gunawardena and Keheliya Rambukwella. Here, the President took measures to ban the travel of all except Ali Sabrata. When Bandula inquired about it, the President said, ‘Go if you want, but when you go, the government will have fallen.’
Right now the Minister of State Suren Raghavan is also abroad for a month, and the chief organizer of the government has been advised to bring him to Sri Lanka immediately. Apart from this, the Chief Organizing Office of the ruling party had taken steps to issue a ‘three-line order’ to the MPs that no minister or member of the government can go abroad in the next week and must be present in Parliament on the 24th. Although usually such a three-line order is issued only when the budget is presented, how important Janaka’s vote is to the government was seen through the issuance of a three-line order for that purpose.
Seniors ensure votes
In addition to this, the government had launched an operation to download MPs from various parties last week. According to that operation, Prasanna was entrusted with the mission of bringing all the MPs related to Pohottuwa to the Parliament on the 24th, and Nimal Lanza was entrusted with the mission of getting Muslim and Tamil MPs from other parties to support this proposal. Nimal Siripala had taken steps to get the other members of the SLFP to support the resolution.
Opposition to defeat!
In this way, while the government was preparing for the 24th, the opposition was also not idle. The opposition led by SJB has already declared that the removal of Janaka who stood for the people is an unfair act and will not vote for it at all. Accordingly, a three-line order was issued from the main office of the opposition to the opposition members informing them that they should definitely come to the parliament on the 24th.
What did Janaka write !
In addition to this, last Wednesday, Janaka Ratnayake, Chairman of the Utilities Commission, also took steps to send a special letter to the Secretary General of the Parliament, Mr. Dhammika Dasanayake. Through this letter, Janaka requested that he and his two children be given the opportunity to witness the polling held on the 24th. Janaka had also arranged to forward a copy of this to the Deputy Secretary General of the Parliament.
It is very clear that, the government has a challenge to show 113 on the 24th. From the facts that are currently being lined up, it seems that the government is in a state of shock in this regard
Fake news once again
Last week, the working committee of the Samagi Jana Balavegaya met and took two serious decisions while fake news was spreading everywhere that the Samagi Jana Balavega will join the government. That they will not join the government in any way and that Samagi Jana Balawegaya will present a presidential candidate in the next presidential election. But after that, there was a discussion among the seniors of Samagi Jana Balawegaya about some special decisions to be taken. Accordingly, a working committee meeting of the United People’s Force was held to take a decision on several critical issues. Members of the Samagi Jana Janbalawegaya also officially participated.
SJB executive committee meeting
Although the working committee meeting was supposed to start at five in the evening, a special guest arrived at the opposition leader’s office about twenty minutes before that. It was Sujeewa Senasinghe, who had not attended the executive committee meeting for almost two years. Sujeewa, who was a little away from political activities after the setback in the last election, again participated in the election campaign meetings of Samagi Jana Balawega condensing about one and a half months ago as a special speaker. But he did not attend the working committee meeting. But his participation in this meeting was special.
Sujeewa present
However, when Sujeeva came to the opposition leader’s office, he did not even meet party leader Sajith Premadasa let alone general secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara. He came directly and sat in the guest room adjacent to the hall where the working committee meeting was held. His presence on the one hand and his behavior on the other hand caused the curiosity of many people.
Generally, Sujeeva is known as a straight forward character
‘Ah, go up Sujeewa…’
Several members of the executive board asked him but instead he stayed in the guest room until the meeting started with a few young members of the executive board.
A committee member came and called Sujee to come back upstairs.
‘No, it was the leader and the secretary general who called me back when I was away from political work. I came back to the stage where I couldn’t escape from you. There is no going back now. There must be an answer to these rumours. And there must be an end to it. I came to the working committee today to ask them to make a decision about it…’
Even though Sujeeva said that, it was a puzzle for many people.
SJB working committee
Precisely at 5 pm, the working committee meeting started under the leadership of opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. As soon as he reached the meeting room, Sajith saw Sujee. After presenting the last report, General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara addressed the Assembly
The working committee meeting was called today to inform about some special matters and to get approval for it. On the one hand, we, as the main party of the opposition, are carrying out an operation to gather all the parties of the opposition against this terrible program of the government.
On the other hand, we are gathering groups that can stand together with our philosophy program and are preparing the background to form a massive alliance. But I want to tell you, if you are building an alliance, you cannot have different agendas. It is also not possible to express opinions outside the opinion of the party and the alliance in some places. If the journey is to be decided, let’s create an alliance without running after other issues, and we have to be strict about discipline. I will take the necessary internal and external measures to build an alliance. Also, I will appoint a committee consisting of the Secretary General, the National Organizer, and the Chief Organizer of the Opposition to make decisive decisions regarding discipline.
Sajith’s remarks of Sujeewa
I want to say something special. Mr. Sujeewa Senasinghe has come here today after a long time. He is one of the people who made immense commitment to build this party. I accept him with great respect…
When Sajith said that, everyone in the committee applauded. While Sajith was continuing his speech, the young representatives of the working committee were in a state of excitement. Suddenly, Anuradha Wimalaratne stood up.
‘Sir, last week the working committee approved that a Samagi Janabalawega candidate is running for the presidential election. There is no way for one candidate to come forward. You are our candidate…’
Anuradha Wimalaratne with Rehan Jayawickrama, Ajith P. Sujeewa Senasinghe stood up at the same time when Perera and many others tried to stand up in support of that idea.
Sujeewa’s proposal
Sir, after a long time I came to the working committee meeting. I would have to have a big fight with my conscience if I had not been involved in this today.
Sir, we formed this party after a great fight. When Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe owe the United National Party and ignored the mandate, we had to take the past glory of the proud United National Party in this country and create a new force. That is the Samagi People’s Force. We made this party by putting aside the dangers we had to face. In 2019, we made you the presidential candidate and handed over an election that even the devil could not win.
But you polled 58 lakhs. The last election was the first election you faced. The party won a record fifty-two seats within three months of their formation. We will never see a leader other than you again. You should promote yourself, not you. These other people want to promote you. We have a clean team. When that group gathers around you, this country can be built.
Counter false stories
We are dedicated to that. Let’s give an answer to these false stories that some people say as if they are crazy. There is no point in talking about each other. We created this new party to go on a journey with you. Dams are useless. There is no work after reading and reading…’ while Sujeeva expressed his opinion very sensitively, the working committee remained silent.
I came to say this. Don’t even think of joining the gangs that have bankrupted this country, let alone joining don’t even think of joining the gangs. If we do that then the people of this country will curse us too. You are the presidential candidate of Samagi Jana Balavegaya. There are no other candidates. I propose you as the presidential candidate of the Samagi Janabalawega and the Samagi People’s Union…’
Sujeewa , concluded!
Presidential candidate nominated
Along with Sujeeva’s comments, there was a big competition among the members of the working committee to approve Sajit as the presidential candidate.
Harshana Rajakaruna, who stood up, unanimously approved Sujeeva’s idea and said that Sajith Premadasa should be the presidential candidate of Samagi Jana Balavega.
‘We, as local MPs, wrote a letter to Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe for the first time saying that we should give you the leadership of the party and make you the presidential candidate. Therefore, we contributed as much as we could for the formation of this party. You should definitely be the next presidential candidate…’ said Rehan Jayawikrama.
‘Within two months, a new party was formed and the main parties were left behind and fifty-two seats were taken under your leadership. There are no other leaders. You are the Samagi Jana Balawegaya candidate…’
President’s Counsel Upul Jayasuriya said.
also have to say, Sir, that Chaminda Wijesiri doesn’t play double game. If anyone join the government, they join for money. No one can get out after committing that crime… Chaminda Wijesiri said.
Accordingly, Sujeeva Senasinghe, General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara and Harshana Rajakaruna proposed that Sajith Premadasa should run for the upcoming presidential election in the Samagi Janabalawega led Samagi Jana Sandanha and the working committee unanimously approved it.
Chaminda Wijesiri, Harshana Rajakaruna, S.M. Marikkar, Rehan Jayawickrama, President’s Counsel Upul Jayasuriya and others expressed their appreciation for the proposal.