Democracy And Good Governance: The Little Red Riding Hood Of Sri Lanka
By Rajasingham Narendran -October 26, 2014
Dr. Rajasingham Narendran
I remembered the ‘Little red Riding Hood’ story by brothers Grimm, last night, while reading the highlights of MR’s latest budget , that is a prelude to the next presidential elections.
“She was surprised to find the cottage-door standing open, and when she went into the room, she had such a strange feeling that she said to herself: ‘Oh dear! how uneasy I feel today, and at other times I like being with grandmother so much.’ She called out: ‘Good morning,’ but received no answer; so she went to the bed and drew back the curtains. There lay her grandmother with her cap pulled far over her face, and looking very strange.
‘Oh! Grandmother,’ she said, ‘what big ears you have!’
‘All the better to hear you with, my child,’ was the reply.
‘But, grandmother, what big eyes you have!’ she said.
‘All the better to see you with, my dear.’
‘But, grandmother, what large hands you have!’
‘All the better to hug you with.’
‘Oh! but, grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have!’
‘All the better to eat you with!’
And scarcely had the wolf said this, than with one bound he was out of bed and swallowed up Red Riding Hood. “
MR and his government that have stalked and devoured everything decent , principled, constitutional and legitimate in this country and provided the worst governance we have ever seen, and insulted the peoples intelligence, tested their capacity to bear the cost of living, corruption, nepotism, injustice, lawlessness , pompousness, arrogance, unaccountability and extremely bad governance, have come with a ‘Unstoppable Sri Lanka’ budget. Will the trajectory that has been set for this country by this government in the past five years be unstoppable?
This budget is designed to deceive and devour the people, like the sweet talk of the bad wolf dressed in old grandma’s garments. The large ears, the big mouth, the big paws and the hideously large mouth with big sharp teeth and a very long tongue behind this budget are quite visible. We know how we will be devoured, if MR and his government are elected or proclaim themselves elected for third terms. Will we be the nation of ‘Little Red Riding Hoods’ who went looking for flowers and birds in the present budget as schemed by MR and his government, while the bad wolf that has already devoured the grandmother, is waiting for our approval to devour us?
As the President proudly pronounced it is a Godaya’s magic that assumes that most Sri Lankans are village mutts (Gam Modayas)!
