LG polls a reflection of people’s disgust

Ithink everyone is surprised by the outcome of the recent Local Government elections. No one expected the Pohottu party to gain so much ground - not even the leaders of that Party. This is mainly because the normal voters have withdrawn into themselves and have not openly talked about or protested about the sufferings that they have been undergoing. This is the first opportunity they got to express their deep disgust at what was happening to them. They had to put up with a lot of labour strikes and public protests that had been going on without any control.

The recent Railway strike was a hindrance to many schoolchildren attending their public examinations (who were sitting for their O/Levels). This exam is very important for them and they sit for it after undergoing a lot of stress. Although the Transport Minister declared the Railways as an Essential Service he failed to take any action against the strikers.

The SAITM protests by the doctors is another instance. These strikes affected a lot of poor patients. The Government should have declared the Medical Service as an Essential Service and kicked out all the doctors who violated it.

A recent march from Kandy to Colombo by opposition parties also inconvenienced commuters on the Kandy Road. These are just a few instances of the many protests that took place regularly.

The salient feature of all these strikes is that the citizens suffered in silence. No one talked on their behalf. Politicians did not even notice their suffering.

Nothing is done to safeguard the interests of the citizens. The President seems to have taken control of all the decisions that should be made by Ministers. Even the Prime Minister does not have a say in these matters. During J.R. Jayewardene’s regime a whole bunch of Air Traffic controllers were kicked out because they violated an Essential Services declaration and it put an end to the unfair labour strikes that affected the people. Don Via email