{"id":45324,"date":"2015-07-06T22:45:50","date_gmt":"2015-07-07T04:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=45324"},"modified":"2015-07-06T05:23:56","modified_gmt":"2015-07-06T12:23:56","slug":"the-rajapaksa-comeback-creates-many-cats-on-hot-bricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2015\/07\/06\/the-rajapaksa-comeback-creates-many-cats-on-hot-bricks\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rajapaksa comeback creates many \u2018cats on hot bricks\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ajit Randeniya<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

The inevitable announcement by the UPFA that the former President Mahinda Rajapakse will be nominated for the August 17 elections has created the anticipated hysterical reaction from marginal political players who took part in the January 8 conspiracy plotted by the venomous Chandrika Kumaratunga.<\/p>\n

The Rajapakse success seems to have created many \u2018cats on hot bricks\u2019 out of \u2018players\u2019 ranging from the \u2018swollen-headed\u2019 Arjuna Ranathunga and the \u2018muscle-brained\u2019 Ranjan Ramanayake, to \u2018UNP stooges\u2019 like Tilvin Silva of the politically irrelevant JVP. These characters are aware that they will never be able to defeat Mahinda Rajapakse in a true democratic test of popularity among the majority, and they are panicking.<\/p>\n

Arjuna Ranathunga, the most prominent \u2018player\u2019 who launched the most vituperative attack against President Sirisena for agreeing to Rajapkse\u2019s nomination, seems to be clutching to Chandrika\u2019s saripota\u201d ever more tightly that he risks being swung out of political circulation at the next elections.<\/p>\n

Tilvin Silva, a JVP veteran of the blood-stained 1971 and 1987-89 vintages also seems to have stumbled on to the Yahapalana bandwagon since January 8by accident, trying to escape\u00a0 political oblivious through the common front!<\/p>\n

The total lack of political integrity makes any discussion of ambitious opportunists of the calibre of Rajitha Senaratne and Champika Ranawaka unneeded.<\/p>\n

The protests of these bogusly self-appointed guardians of democracy and good governance against Rajapakse\u2019s nomination seem to be based on their own, new definitions of democracy and good governance: they seem to conveniently and corruptly ignore that Maithripala Sirisena had no other choice but to allow Rajapakse\u2019s nomination simply because it was demanded by the majority; He had no other choice in the face of demands by an overwhelming majority of the parliamentary membership of the UPFA and the SLFP who in turn were motivated by their knowledge of the yearning for a Rajapakse return at the grass roots\u201d. Their inaction through the party machinery to bring Rajapakse back would have made their own political survival impossible.<\/p>\n

The other hyperventilating group, the corrupt \u00a0NGO-wallahs appear to be led by Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha, the Chief Incumbent of Naga Viharaya, Pita Kotte, acting in the capacity as the leader of an NGO with a highly- political agenda, named National Movement for Social Justice.<\/p>\n

Rev Sobhita was a prominent supporter of the January 8 conspiracy and has tried (seemingly unsuccessfully) to be the self-appointed Purohita<\/em> to President Sirisena. Rajapakse\u2019s success with the UPFA seems to have greatly unsettled Rev Sobhita to such an extent, that it has made him vulnerable to accusations of behaviour unbecoming of a Buddhist monk.<\/p>\n

Firstly to some glaring inconsistencies and hypocrisy about Rev Sobhita\u2019s behaviour: every leading January 8 conspirator criticising and ridiculing Rajapakse for \u2018operating\u2019 from a Buddhist temple – Abhayarama Temple at Narahenpita – seem to be quite happy about Rev Sobhita\u2019s operation running from the historic Naga Viharaya. The monk himself carries on calling press conferences and meetings with people such as Ranil Wickremesinghe and others at the temple premises. But that seems to be fine according to the flexible\u00a0 Yahapalana morals.<\/p>\n

Then, the level of noise Rev Sobhita is making and the level of influence he seems to be \u2018expecting\u2019 – from and on governments – appears to be totally out-of-proportion to the membership strength of the so-called National Movement for Social Justice he is president of – Attempts to obtain a precise membership figure for the movement\u201d have been unsuccessful and the spokesperson seems to be unaware of the actual membership figure!<\/p>\n

Rev Sobhita should feel obliged – as a self-acclaimed political operator and a promoter of democracy – to make an announcement on the membership strength he represents, if he is to be able to justify the noise he is making and partisan politics he is engaged on behalf of We, the people\u201d , and being the voice of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such requests are not too much to ask for, from a holy\u201d person who proclaims that people\u201d had no trust in former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who has allegedly betrayed the masses on two occasions and wants to return to the political arena to continue his dirty game! He also made the rather \u2018unholy\u2019 remark that Rajapaksa was shamelessly trying to make a comeback after being rejected by the masses at the last Presidential election\u201d. It is obvious from the massive grass roots campaign in favour of Rajapakse that his claims of what the people are demanding starkly contrasts with reality, and appear clearly disingenuous.<\/p>\n

Rev Sobhita who has no genuine contact with the broader public other than the less than 100 members of his organisation and his partisan rants are not based on the reality beyond perimeter of the Naga Vihara.<\/p>\n

It appears that the intemperate personality and the inflated ego Rev Sobhita is portraying is quite unhealthy from a mental health point of view and is surely incompatible with the Buddhist path of Samma Vacha\u201d the Buddha has recommended for monks and laymen.<\/p>\n

It is time that the nations put Rev Sobhita in his place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ajit Randeniya The inevitable announcement by the UPFA that the former President Mahinda Rajapakse will be nominated for the August 17 elections has created the anticipated hysterical reaction from marginal political players who took part in the January 8 conspiracy plotted by the venomous Chandrika Kumaratunga. The Rajapakse success seems to have created many \u2018cats […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ajit-randeniya"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45324\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}