Yasapalanists’ Parliament
No one, not even the fiercest advocate of good governance, would deprive such creatures nominations as they themselves feel they cannot win without the evil that has become synonymous with Sri Lankan democracy.
( May 16, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) I am surprised that many citizens, all those who craved for a ‘Yahapalanaya’, have showed utter dismay over the attack carried out by some Members of Parliament on their colleagues.
Various civil societies and other organizations pleaded with the public, delivered graphic sermons to the voters and published advertisements, spending millions of rupees, which they had received from foreign funding agencies, to ensure that all corrupt elements would be voted out. But, what did the voters do?
They just threw back the mud and allegations at the preachers and other pious puritans, and instead, carried on their shoulders Members of Parliament accused of corruption, bribery and other offences. At the last elections, only three failed to get elected. That is not because the voters did not vote for them, but, because the voters did not have a choice, as they failed to get nominations.
The recent brawl in Parliament. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya suspended two members for a week. ( Video Courtesy: Hiru Gossip)
So why cry; rejoice that the majority of law makers do not have the minimum educational qualification to become street cleaners. They voted, danced in the aisles after allegedly imbibing hooch distributed freely to the voters. The purists pocketed a large slice of filthy lucre and went in search of other causes to make dollars. Others, embraced their new heroes with new outfits and the Parliament was the same.
To elect Parliamentarians devoid of thuggery, hooliganism, underworld connections and ethanol dealers, is a stupendous task; what S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike said in the 1930s, soon after he returned from England, “we are not ready for universal franchise,” proves that, that was the only politically mature statement he ever made.
Even the so called messiahs of ‘Yahapalanaya’ are fighting for the most expensive limousines and a number of back up vehicles, though, not even a petty thief wants to harm them. Why should the off shoot of the LTTE harm them as they are very happy with the progress they are making to prove a statement made by an astute Tamil lawyer Shanthi Crosette Thambiah “with the mess we are in since independence, what right have the Sinhalese to rule over us?” The evil that was exorcised by the public is holding a tight grip on the Yahapalanist and committing the same cardinal sin the Rajapaksas committed.
