Vijayadasa Rajapaksha first entered Parliament through the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), which was formed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) together with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). His name was included in the UPFA’s national list with the agreement of Susil Premajayantha (UPFA Secretary) and Tilvin Silva (JVP Secretary). At that time, Vijayadasa was part of Mangala Samaraweera’s team, which pushed for the alliance with the JVP. He worked alongside Tilvin, Wimal Weerawansa, and Anura Dissanayake to build the coalition.
Later, in the 2005 presidential election, Mahinda Rajapaksa became the UPFA candidate. Supporting him were not only Vijayadasa, Tilvin, and Anura but also Champika Ranawaka. Before Mahinda’s candidacy, the UNP—then led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe—accused Mahinda of corruption, claiming he had deposited tsunami relief funds into a private bank account. Kabir Hashim, now the SJB leader, was the UNP MP who raised the charge. President Chandrika Kumaratunga even wrote to Mahinda, calling it a serious fraud. This was the first time in Sri Lankan history that a president from the same party accused her own prime minister of corruption.
Did the JVP leave Mahinda because of these allegations? No. Instead, both Chandrika and the UNP dismissed the tsunami scandal as a conspiracy to block Mahinda’s candidacy, and they defended him. Vijayadasa was also part of that defense.
If Tilvin and Anura had said back then, “We are a clean party, we won’t support a corrupt Mahinda,” Sri Lanka’s political history would have been very different. Instead, Mahinda was elevated as a hero, became president, and lawyers like Vijayadasa gave him legitimacy. Ironically, today, the JVP attacks Mahinda’s corruption, while Vijayadasa’s own son faces bribery allegations. Many politicians now jailed by the JVP were first elected to Parliament in 2004 thanks to JVP votes—including Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Sarana Gunawardena, and Vijayadasa himself. They became ministers only because the JVP helped Mahinda win in 2005. Later, the UNP defeated them politically. But Ranil and the UNP tarnished their own history by protecting corrupt Rajapaksa ministers after taking the presidency from the Rajapaksa family.
Sajith Premadasa’s Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) broke away from that corruption. The SJB built a new political culture against theft. For example, they brought a no-confidence motion against Minister Keheliya Rambukwella over a medicine fraud. The JVP mocked them, saying such motions only strengthen the government. The motion failed, but later patients died due to Keheliya’s fraudulent medicines, proving the SJB’s accusations were true. Eventually, Keheliya was removed from office and jailed, and only then did the JVP start holding rallies against him.
The SJB also took the Rajapaksas to court over bankrupting the country, while the JVP only shouted about it on stage without legal action. When Speaker Ranwala’s degree certificate was exposed as fake, the SJB collected signatures for a no-confidence motion, putting Anura’s government in difficulty. If not for SJB’s move, Ranwala would still be the Speaker. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath and Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said that Ranwala had withdrawn until he brought his degree certificates.
Similarly, the SJB exposed the coal fraud under Anura’s government. They brought a no-confidence motion against Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, but the JVP defended him, just as they had defended Keheliya earlier. The motion failed, but Jayakody was later forced out of office. Without the SJB’s motion, he would still be minister today.
Even now, Ranwala remains an MP despite losing the speakership, and Jayakody remains an MP despite losing his ministry. Meanwhile, powerful ministers like Wasantha Samarasinghe and Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe face court cases.
When Charith Abeysinghe was arrested over bribery linked to “Harak Kata,” Sajith was asked what action he would take. He replied clearly:
“No doubt—if he has committed a wrong, we will take disciplinary action.”
Can the JVP give such a clear answer about Ranwala, Jayakody, Wasantha, or Mahinda? That is the real test.
