Basil to leave country if Pushapa is not made chief minister!

 Sunday, 20 October 2013 

Economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa has said in front of the president with sorrow and anger that he would leave politics and return to the US if attorney Pushpa Rajapaksa is not given nominations to contest the upcoming Western Provincial Council election as the UPFA chief ministerial candidate, according to Temple Trees sources. The president has so far not responded to minister Basil’s request, which has disheartened him even further.

Owing to the serious mental stress and pressure he has undergone due to the conflict of opinion regarding this matter among the family members, minister Basil Rajapaksa had to be hospitalized and received in-house treatment at Lanka Hospitals Ltd.. The hospital, whose chairman is defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has not levied any charge from minister Basil Rajapaksa for his in-house treatment. During his incarceration, the president, and at his request, MP Namal Rajapaksa, visited minister Basil at the hospital. However, Mr. Namal Rajapaksa had stayed there for less than five minutes. Notably, the defence secretary did not visit his ailing brother at the hospital.

First lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa and both Namal and Yoshitha are strongly against the bringing in of attorney Pushpa Rajapaksa to the political fore as the chief ministerial candidate for the western provincial council. Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa too, has expressed his opposition to the idea. Members of the president’s family have proposed that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa be given the nomination. However, the president is intentionally avoiding a response to all these proposals.

Last week, Mrs. Pushpa Rajapaksa told the SLFP women’s organization that she had no intention of entering active politics although she has been urged by many SLFP organizations to take to politics. She is saying so in the backdrop of a situation in which the president is yet to approve her name. The other two persons trying their level best to prevent the entry of Mrs. Pushpa Rajapaksa to politics are western province chief minister Prasanna Ranatunga and the province’s minister Nimal Lansa. As the chief organizer for Gampaha district, minister Basil Rajapaksa has deployed Mr. Nimal Lansa to shoulder the burden in the district, by throwing at him the carrot of the chief ministership.