Ja-ela John the Boor blasphemes Prime Minister Ranil’s UNP gospel

Christian Affairs Minister’s crude unchristian outburst

It was indeed a crude shocking outburst coming from the lips of a senior UNP minister of the government that blasphemed not only his party leader, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s UNP gospel of just governance but also his moral creed of right speech.

But the brawny Ja- ela’s John Anthony Emmanuel Amaratunga, though baptised at birth with the names of three Catholic Saints, is not one known to hold his tongue when it comes to lashing out at the rival camp and giving the ‘works’, in a manner that would have made Maradana’s late famed thug Choppe proud.

In a gung ho speech addressed to the public this week, he announced his readiness to win the forthcoming coming election by any means. He said, “If anyone comes against us, we will hammer the fellow and chase him out. We have nothing to worry this time. This time the government is ours, the police is ours. No one should be afraid. We will deal with anyone. What we want is your vote only. If any one of you has no ID card, tell us and we will fix it for you. “

Even as the President and the Prime Minister would have put their hands to their foreheads to grieve the damage done to the Yahapalana image of the government by this unwarranted verbal outburst; even as thousands in the joint opposition would have brought their hands together to clap in cheer at John’s speech which would give them the ammo to show there was hardly any difference between the defeated Rajapaksa regime and the elected Sirisena government; and whilst the Archbishop of Colombo may have clasped his hands in prayer at the Archbishop’s chapel seeking divine succour to help mend the Christian Affairs’ Minister’s wayward ways and bragging tongue; and whilst thousands of Christian may have wondered why there was no Father, the Lord, no Son the Christ and no Holy Ghost in Christian Affairs Minister John’s Catholic heart, he suddenly left the sea of his political polemics to embark upon a new voyage in a quest to find answers to the people’s pecuniary plight.

He turns Lanka’s economic savant. He asks the people, “How much is rice now? The crowd answer, its 150 bucks. Oh, my public will swear by but it had the people wondering whether this was the puerile way government ministers -- cabinet spokesmen no less -- measure the intelligence quotient of the Lankan public; and suffer the belief that any rubbish they dish out would pass muster.

It took Minister Sagala Ratnayake to explain the situation in more acceptable words. He said, "One should not forget the situation in the country before January 08, 2015. We have now ushered in a new political culture. That is why we should come forward to protect the rights of the voters and ensure a free and fair election."

True, it is exactly because the public and the media of this country haven’t forgotten how the country was run before January 2015 that they insist the present government to not forget it; and continue to remind them that the fate that befell the previous regime, await them too if they renegade on their promises to resurrect from the ashes of the Rajapaksa’s corrupt and decadent regime, a just government all Lanka can be proud of .

Two matters remain to be addressed to the Tourism and Christian Affairs Minister, the 77 year old Mr. Amaratunga.

The first is to remind him of a speech made by Joint Opposition MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage whilst he was the Minister of Sports under the Rajapaksa regime at a public rally during the run up to the Southern Provincial elections in 2013. He said: We will not allow anyone to dance. We have the government, we have the police, we have the army with us and we will not tolerate anyone to come to dance here.”

Perhaps due to his advancing years, Mr. Amaratunga forgot to add, that the government also ‘had the army’ with them but surely even creeping senility, god forbid, could not have made him forget the consequences that followed Mahindananda’s ministerial arrogance at the height of Rajapaksa power.

Secondly, Amaratunge’s answer to the high prices of rice, coconut and vegetables, especially beans, was to import it all. If that is the gamut of his economic genius to solve the cost of living crisis by importing the nation’s basic staple diet, perhaps he should leave it to the subject ministers concerned. And, instead, as the Minister of Tourism, concentrate more on importing more tourists to this thrice blessed isle of Shangri-la.