Life is difficult as it is, don’t make it worse
At a difficult time such as this when Sri Lanka is struggling to escape from the cauldron of turmoil it is embroiled in since the April 21 disaster, I consider it a blatant travesty of justice for the Prime Minister to propose that all government MPS be given Rs.50 million each, for rural development work. With general elections scheduled for end this year, this action would make people wonder whether it is an election ploy. As if this is not enough, UPFA MP Mahinda Amaraweera claimed that the government was planning to spend Rs.180 million for the ceremony where Samurdhi welfare payments were to be distributed to several thousand beneficiaries. What kind of nonsense is this to spend such huge amounts of money by a government, which was elected to do away with fraud and corruption and meaningless waste of the country’s wealth and resources?
This is followed up by another Cabinet paper by the Prime Minister seeking approval to buy a bulletproof vehicle for Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, who enjoyed enough and more of such luxuries at the cost of the taxpayers’ money when he was president. What more is the Prime Minister aiming to buy for MR who connived with the President to hatch the October 26 conspiracy and violate the country’s Constitution by sacking the United National Front government and its Prime Minister and getting MR appointed as the prime minister and his gleeful sycophants appointed as ministers and deputy ministers. Thankfully though, this coup was short-lived and sanity finally prevailed with the historic ruling by the judiciary and people-power taking centre stage and standing up for democracy and justice.
However, the Cabinet had postponed the bullet-proof discussion for another date after Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who is known not to pull his punches for what he considers right even in the midst of mounting opposition, had as a lone sentinel reportedly expressed a contradictory view and had rightly said that the people would not take such extravagant moves lying down and that without doubt would voice strong opposition with the government earning their disfavour.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Daily Mirror last week, Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam had acknowledged the fact that the government had blundered by failing to thwart the April 21 carnage and expressed his deep regret for the tragedy.
RUSSELL CC NUGEGODA