Social mixing for 225 MPs at PM’s Temple Trees meet?
Lanka’s ruling outfit, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna has on many an occasion trotted out as one of its lame duck excuses against recalling Parliament by holding out that the meeting of 225 MPs at one cramped hall would be against the Government’s anti-mingling policy and could pose a serious threat to the health of the nation if such a gathering led to a widespread outbreak of the coronavirus.
True. But this argument put forward by many SLPP MPs has been rebutted by Opposition MPs who have counterargued that this only applies and is valid if all 225 representatives of the public were to show up in the chamber of the House.
They have pointed out that, if the government reconvened Parliament, the presence of all 225 MPs in the chamber will not be necessary and just 20 MPs, nominated by each political party according to the present seats each party currently holds in the House, will suffice for
Parliament to meet and thus avoid the impending constitutional crisis.
The President, however, has firmly struck to his original stance of not recalling Parliament. President Rajapaksa’s Secretary P.B. Jayasundera in his reply to ex Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa’s letter of 27 April signed by five other party leaders as well requesting the reconvening of Parliament, stated “no situation had arisen that necessitates reconvening Parliament under Article 70 (7) of the Constitution.”
Be that as it may, former President and current Prime Minister of the caretaker cabinet, Mahinda Rajapaksa, deemed it fit to issue an invite to all ex 225 MPs to a meeting to be held tomorrow morn at his official residence Temple Trees.
Whatever may be the purpose for all MPs to meet en mass in one cramped hall at Temple Trees, is it wise? Does it not go contrary to the Government’s wise policy of social distancing and no mingling?
Saturday morning’s COVID toll is 690 and still rising. The Navy camp at Welisara has been placed under isolation because one naval rating’s COVID infection spread to the rest of the confined camp. President Rajapaksa’s assurance to the Chinese ambassador this week that the coronavirus crisis is well under control in Lanka would sound hollow if a cluster attack was to break out to the community.
The JVP announced on Friday that they will not be attending the PM’s meeting on Monday and that they had already sent their regrets stating that, ‘ We do not see holding a meeting of all 225 MPs, at the Prime Minister’s official residence, as a fruitful exercise’.
It’s also a dangerous adventure, given the troubled times we live in.
Just think. 225 men and women coming from all districts of the country for a meeting at one place with another 225 chauffeurs who will be driving them, also cramped in another adjacent hall which totals 450 people in the same compound which doubles up as the Prime Minister’s official residence and office? Wonder what Dr. Anil Jasinghe and his efficient medical staff who have to tender to the mounting COVID victims, have to say on such mass scale social mixing?
The Prime Minister should consider the following and decide whether the risk of the coronavirus spreading as a result of hosting 224 at his pad merely to have a chat about the current crisis is worth the money and effort.
First, he should think of his own self. At the age of 74, he is in the high risk category and COVID, as it has shown in Britain with the Royal Family’s Charles and its Prime Minister Boris, is no respecter of persons.
Second, he should take note of the country’s health services. And consider, whether by hosting this mass event to ostensibly have ‘talks with the 225 MPs on current COVID affair’ as a press release from his office stated on Friday, he is taking the unwarranted risk of placing the already strained medical services in further jeopardy and the lives of Lanka’s citizens at further risk by, ironically, meeting physically with 224 people to discuss how to control the epidemic?
Third, if just one MPs driver or an MP tests positive for COVID after the event it might lead to the isolation of Temple Trees. It could also give rise to the need to place in quarantine all the 225 MPs, including the Prime Minister and his cabinet, if they do attend the meeting at the eleventh hour on Monday morn.
In which case, even if President Rajapaksa entertained second thoughts and decided to recall Parliament to regularize many matters, it would be too late in the hour to do so. There would be no MPs left to attend.