5th Column

Mahindas and Ms continue to haunt 'Unanduwak Nethi Pakshaya'
My Dear Green Man,
I thought I must write to you again because even though you are out of office you seem to be always in the news-very much like your erstwhile opponent, Satellite.

The latest issue as we all know is how you sacked Matara Mahinda, the chap who left the Blues to join you along with Seeni Bola, the Professor and others.
Of course, there are those who say that at long last you seem to have done something decisive and that this should have been done some time ago because the chap was going around the countryside hailing Seeni Bola as the future leader of the 'Unanduwak Nethi Pakshaya'.

Then there are those who say that the man should not have been sacked since he has already burnt his bridges with the blues to whom he can never return. But then, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in politics, only permanent interests as Thonda, Hakeem and even Wimal sahodaraya have shown us recently.

There is also another point of view, that something should have been done about Matara Mahinda, but it should have been done more diplomatically. After all, until now we all thought that signing controversial letters and leaving the country was the exclusive privilege of Satellite!

Whatever view we subscribe to, Green Man, maybe you should be extra careful when you encounter a chap with the name 'Mahinda'. First, Hambantota Mahinda robbed you of the presidency, then Matugama Mahinda began the now familiar crossover trend and now Matara Mahinda has proved to be yet another headache.

In fact, Green Man, it is not only the Mahindas that you should worry about -- anyone with a name beginning with 'M' should be scrutinised very, very carefully -- just look at the mess that the Moragoda-Maharoof-Mohomed combination has landed you and your party in the Colombo Municipal Council elections.

And of course, that brings us to the next question: there you are, busily sacking Matara Mahinda just for criticising you, but nothing is being done about the three 'M's who messed up the Colombo municipal election lists because of their petty personal bickering as a result of which the party lost a chance to save face at the recent local polls. No wonder that some people are asking 'kavuda mewata waga kiyanne?'

And as if that were not enough we see that Milinda has accompanied you in your passage to India and appears to be still your trusted confidant, no matter what he does and what mess he gets the party into.

You may say, Green Man that these are all familiar scenarios when a party is in the opposition. There is some truth in that because we can all remember the horrible scenes in the Blue Party in the late seventies and early eighties when the then young Anura even took Mrs. B to courts!

Nevertheless, Green Man, you owe it to the more than 4.7 million voters who voted for you just a few months ago, to form a viable opposition because the 'Unanduwak Nethi Pakshaya' still remains the single largest party in the country. So, it is high time you get rid of all the misfits in the party -- not just some of them -- and organise yourself into a truly united outfit that your Uncle would be proud of.

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha.
PS-If it is of some consolation, you may consider yourself still one step ahead of Hambantota Mahinda -- he was only appointed 'Acting Chairman' of his own Blue party and some even say that there is no provision for such a post! Even he can't have it all, can he?

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