Courtesy The Island

Crackers did burst, and rockets did fly with blasts. As the old year folded up, the fireworks continued. Were some of the louder blasts from gas cylinders? Who knows, with no legal action taken against those gas-blast dealers so far. The law can wait till they draw in all the crooked profits.

As the cracker and rocket blasts fade away, we are moving into a new sound of the public. It is the rise of the ‘Hoova’ time. We saw it first at Hambantota. Were the people giving the government politician a lesson on what people of power must expect in the coming months, and years.

It is the ‘Hoo Keliya’ that is rapidly sweeping the political landscape. Several politicians, of government strength and power have had to face the ‘Hoo Keliya” at supermarkets, busy junctions, and even when they tried returning to their electorates. Many of them are so sad at being hooted even when they did not join their fellow politicos to fly abroad for the festive season.

The long queues to get essential goods, such as gas, kerosene, and milk are the stuff of Rajapaksa governance. Such queues should certainly not lead to any hooting, even if you are spending a long time lined up for milk.

That is the stuff of Gotabaya Governance. No hooting. Just keep waiting. The Police will even be so kind as to get the trader involved to have two counters for the sale of ‘short supply’ goods. This will be the Mirihana – Gotabaya Thinking on handling the spreading of the queue system of Pohottuva politics.

A simple question to ask the Police that issued a statement explaining the Mirihana issue (hoo keliya carefully ignored), why they do not intervene to bring the Mirihana – Gotabaya Thinking to other places, too. Why don’t they tell the gas dealers at so many places to have two or even four counters open to shorten the queue?

Similarly, why don’t they move swiftly to shorten the many other queues for kerosene, and the milk powder for kids, too?

Will that need too many police personnel or is such thinking beyond the mind of a Senior DIG, so good at telling that it was not leaking gas cylinders, but bad cookers, which led to so many blasts and at least three deaths, too.

We are certainly moving to a whole new phase in the governance of Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister has to fly in a friend’s private plane to the Tirupati shrine in India to seek the blessings and miraculous action of one or more gods, to give divine power for Gota – Governance. Just forget that Sri Lanka remains a Sinhala Buddhist country, and be embraced to Hindu Divine politics.

Are there any other deities, spirits or even demons of power, who will help our economy to rise, and move away from the International Monetary Fund IMF? Do we have the blessings or curses of these spiritual forces to believe that our foreign reserves have risen to US$ 3.1 billion, as said by Central Bank Governor Cabraal?

Is it the force of spirits that makes Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara ask why they should leave this government that they formed? Are the ears of Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and Vasudeva Nanayakkara shut tight to the voice of President Gotabaya, that they should leave the Cabinet?

This Pohottuva government has certainly brought us through so much trouble in the last two years, as well as so much belief in sorcery, witchcraft and hoodoo oils and crooked cures for Covid 19. It has certainly earned the ‘Hoo Keliya’ from the people, the masses who are made to suffer, from bad to worse as each day passes.

The New Year that dawns today has certainly given cause for the ‘Hoo Keliya’ that is fast striking the power players of the Pohottuva.

Will we see a wider spread of this ‘Hoo Keliya’ as Gotabaya / Basil move on, cheating the people of all aspects of good governance?

This ‘Hoo Keliya’ is the sound of the New Year, and is moving on to be the roar of the people. Happy Hoo Keliya to you all!