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THE BIGGEST QUESTION IS WHAT WOULD CHANDRIKA GET IF SHE HELPS RANIL TO BECOME THE PRESIDENT

By Walter Jayawardhana

During the forty five minutes long meeting at the official residence of the former President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Kumaratunga what did Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe discuss with her?

Officially no newspaper or television station in Sri Lanka knows since the media was barred from the meeting. For the two politicians the meeting was highly confidential . Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle says it was so confidential Wickremesinghe even did not want to carry his own cell phone into the meeting. He says the United National Party (UNP) leader borrowed his friends cell phone and changed the SIM card to prevent anybody eavesdropping while it was to be used during the meeting.

He quotes the pro-LTTE web Tamil Net as telling that only after the meeting a no-confidence motion was announced. So, one subject suspected by the government minister to have been discussed at the meeting was a no-confidence motion . So, in a warning tone Fernandopulle said Air Lanka sale, Thavakkal and Shell privatization could be also raised from the government side during the no confidence debate if it ever happens. All know these are topics of past scandals alleged against the lady President. In other words it was a warning for her not to encourage the government to rake up muck of her own past.

So, he courteously requested Chandrika Kumaratunga not to make statements damaging the President and the government and supporting the LTTE and the UNP.

He even warned that all details regarding the transfer of a 50 acre state plantation that was allegedly under the former UNP minister and current spokesman Lakshman Kiriella to his wife, Sharmaine’s name could come up in the debate.

UNP dissident Mahinda Wijesekera mentioned another matter regarding Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickremesinghe separately. He said among the three things Mangala has promised Ranil was to make her publicly support to bring Ranil back to power.

He says that was part of the secret deal agreed between Mangala Samaraweera and Ranil Wickremesinghe in the formation of the National Congress.

So far , nobody knows the veracity of these statements since there is no way of verifying them unless they come out from the horses mouth.

But there is no doubt about the former President’s loyalties. She had already approached SLFP organizers to appeal them for support Mangala Samaraweera’s Anuradhapura meeting unsuccessfully. She has expressed her anger over inviting one of her harshest critics in the past , former SLFP General Secretary J.R.P.Suriyapperuma to deliver an inspirational lecture at the 56th anniversary of the SLFP sessions. She has also expressed her anger over removing her from the chairpersonship of the party during her recent self-exile in London.

Everybody knows she was greatly involved with her brother Anura Bandaranaike while being the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to elect Ranil Wickremesinghe as the President and defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa at the last elections unsuccessfully. She was only practicing an old family tradition of defeating their own candidate which they put into practice before, in defeating Presidential candidate Hector Kobbekaduwa years ago.

She is not only less in her hair length but also less in popularity now. Mahinda is hundred times more powerful than at the election time in the party and the risk of getting defeated and losing prestige for her is more today than then. If they discussed a deal, considering all what she has done in the past, she would not have agreed to make Ranil the President without receiving anything substantial under any kind of circumstances.

Even under her previous support for Ranil Wickremesinghe many believe she had expected to be appointed to the parliament and run a newly created Ministry like oil exploration with the full cooperation of the Norwegians. What price would she ask for her new support for Wickremesinghe is the biggest question before us. Anyway, sky could be the limit for her unbounded ambitions

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