Double act of Jayasuriya and Rajapakse: The two utterly self-centred men from the school of thought

By Lankaputhra

(May 18, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Constitution of Sri Lanka provides that the sovereignty of the country is in the people and that includes the executive and the legislative power that is being exercised through President and Legislature elected by the people. The people elected to these two institutions are required by law to discharge the functions of their office honestly and faithfully with full respect to the provisions of the Constitution, which include the sovereignty of the people [4th schedule to the Constitution].

However, the despicable conduct of people elected to these two institutions appears that they are not servants of their masters [the people who elected them] at all but the masters who rule the subjects. The behaviour of so-called elected members suggests that they are above the people and the finest example is President Rajapakse. His conduct clearly demonstrates that he is not a servant of the people elected by the people to exercise people’s executive power. His conduct simly suggests that he is a King who rules his subjects at his will where the people are at his mercy.

At the just concluded election Rajapakse asked for two third majority in the legislature to bring in workable constitution acceptable to all and to bring in lasting peace and prosperity to the battered nation. Yet, what Rajapakse is doing now is clearly a disgrace to the democracy that is being abused to serve only the whims and fancies of the corrupt politicos in this country at the expense of poor people who are taken for a ride.

‘Peoples’ President’ Rajapakse has now usurp the authority of both the Attorney General Department and the Legal Draftsman Department to strengthen his position in the government. ‘In the national interest’ on his orders ‘a very significant’ amendment to the constitution is being drafted by the Attorney General and not the legal draftsman who is now sidelined in this ‘very important mission’. The existing provisions in the constitution provides that the President elected by the people to hold the office for a term of six years and no person elected to the office twice shall be qualified thereafter to be elected to the office of the President [Article 30 and 31]. According to Rajapakse regime the most important issue of national interest right now in Sri Lanka is the term of the President that is been limited to two that is widely followed by all leading democracies including the US.

At the election campaign Rajapakse never uttered a word about his ulterior motive that he was going to adopt to the constitution. What he and his cronies asked for was two third majority to bring some important changes of ‘national interest’ and they never uttered a word about amendment to protect the interest of Rajapakse and his cronies. This has been a preconceived agenda and that is why President pleaded people for two third majority for his party alone at the just concluded elections. President Rajapakse took the peoples’ mandate by deception to serve his petty self-centred attitude, which he considered a very important and urgent amendment to the Constitution in the ‘National interest.’

Like utterly self-centred Jayasuriya, who thought that he was an eternal assert to the national cricket team [in fact at the end of cricketing career he was a liability for the whole team] and ruined Sri Lanka Cricket and himself, it appears that Rajapakse also under false belief that he is an asset to the nation and without him the government of Sri Lanka is bound to fail. It is a pity that there is nobody around him who has little bit of confidence to tell this blind man for power what he was aiming at would bring his own down fall and destruction at the end and would do no good to the country. Rajapakse should remember that he is not an exception to the universal truth; that everything, which we believe would bring us joy and pleasure, is impermanent and have a definite use by date and Rajapakse is not immune from this universal truth.

Like what happened to Jayasuriya, sooner or later Rajapakse too would face the same fate and he would be dumped by the very people who supported him, for his utterly self-centred attitude, so drunk with power and dare to use alarming subterfuge to mislead and cajole the innocent citizens. Bringing an amendment to the supreme law of the land, the constitution, under pretext of ‘national interest, just to serve the interest of one individual, is clearly an unpardonable act and one day Rajapakse would pay dearly for this grave mistake and he would be forced to admit that the ‘responsibly rest with him alone’.

It is sad that the opposition lead by spineless Ranil do nothing tangible to stop this abuse and to educate the public and that why the ruling party want this man to be the opposition leader forever.