Z-score crisis: Ministers add to the muddle

Who speaks for the government and whose view is official? Is there anything called "official" and "unofficial" positions on any one given issue?

These questions have become relevant again over the controversial "Z" score issue which was shot down by the Supreme Court. Official government spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella admitted it had a negative impact on the country's education system.

During his weekly post-cabinet news briefing, he conceded that the government would abide by the SC ruling and declared it was "quite concerned about what happened." That naturally means that the government was admitting that something had gone wrong.

However, Minister Wimal Weerawansa, widely regarded as the government's "political hit man" and reflects the inner thinking of the government on various issues, said the Z- score fiasco was not the fault of the government and hence Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena and Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake could not be blamed.

Who blamed these two Ministers? - Well, well it was National Freedom Front's politburo member Piyasiri Wijenayaka. He is one of Weerawansa's right hand, sorry, left hand men. He announced that he had asked President Mahinda Rajapaksa to remove Ministers Gunawardena and Dissanayake. He also wanted University Grants Commission chairman Gamini Samaranayake to resign.

Weerawansa is the leader of the NFF. His own party cadres, not that many though, now ask whether their leader knew about Wijenayake's request. Or was it a case of Weeerawansa speaking for a section of the government. In the light of so many contradictions, the public may never know.