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Ganeshan raises Jaffna campus issue with MR
View(s):a”Mokada saddey neththey. koh satan paata, (Why are you silent. Where are the slogans?),” President Mahinda Rajapaksa asked Mano Ganeshan, leader of the Democratic People’s Front (DPF). He had telephoned him to wish him for his birthday.
Ganeshan said he was not in Sri Lanka and was on a private visit. He did not disclose his location. Whilst thanking Rajapaksa for wishing him, he seized the opportunity to raise issue over the incidents surrounding the Jaffna University.
Tension continues to prevail there after troops and university students clashed on November 27, observed by the now militarily defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as “Maveerar” or “Great Heroes” Day.
President Rajapaksa replied that Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake would sort the issues out and rang off.
Basil, Fonseka together in wedding bond
Weddings and other social events often bring one time friends and now political foes together. Last Thursday, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa was at a wedding and had to sign as witness. Who should be the other witness?
It was none other than former Army Commander and one time General Sarath Fonseka.
Rebel MP has tete-a-tete with lady staffer
One-time JVPer and now a staunch backer of the breakaway Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), Galle District Parliamentarian Ajith Kumara seems a ‘rebel’ with a new outlook.
Last Thursday, he turned up in Parliament in a denim trouser and a T-shirt. He arrived there as a pillion rider on a motorcycle.
Though officially a member of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), Ajith Kumara told onlookers he had arrived there to meet an official at the Parliament office of the Opposition Leader. The lady officer, he learnt, was at breakfast in the staff canteen.
Kumara decided to go there and meet her. He sat at her table and ordered breakfast too. A steward there advised him that he could have breakfast in the MPs’ canteen. However, Kumara said he preferred to eat at the staff canteen.
He had a breakfast tete-a-tete with the lady staffer. Moments later he was off on the motorcycle.
100 million debt drama at Rupavahini
Private sector companies owe Rupavahini, the country’s national television network Rs. 62 million. The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), the Parliamentary watchdog, which learnt of the matter, has asked the corporation to provide within a month the details of the debtors and who authorised the facility.
Rupavahini officials have explained that some of the private sector companies that owe monies for advertisements have closed down.
Another issue that drew the attention of COPE was that Rs. 42,640,586 was due from political parties for using air time. Only Rs. 148,340 has been recovered so far, they learnt.
Now, COPE has advised Rupavahini officials to take action to write off the moneys due. This is with the approval of the board of directors and the Treasury.
They leave as President comes
Reports that an intruder fired shots from a hand gun at the residence of Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha, UNP Parliamentarian and President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), brought government and opposition leaders to his Nawala residence.
They included President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka and JVP’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
“Mokada oyagollo yanney, (Why are you all leaving),” asked Rajapaksa. A witty Dissanayake replied “Obathuma ena nisaa, api yanawa (we are leaving because you are coming),” he replied.
Attanayake walks on rail track for Hilton wedding
When Minister Rajitha Senaratne met United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Tissa Attanayake at a wedding at the Colombo Hilton, the conversation was over how they got to the five-star hotel. “Mokada Obathuma pramaada, (Why are you late?),” asked Senaratne. The reply, little wonder, embarrassed the hosts at the wedding.
Attanayake replied that the roads leading to Colombo Hilton were closed since racing drivers were doing a practice run for the main event.
“Mata vuney vaahaney maga thiyala, rail paara digey kilometre ekak vithara payin enna, (I had to leave the vehicle behind and walk on the rail tracks for over a kilometre),” replied Attanayake. The coastal rail track from Colombo Fort runs barely a hundred yards past the Colombo Hilton.
When the wedding ended, all the guests including Senaratne, Attanayake and other politicians had to wait till the practices were over.
Attanayake did not want to walk back on the rail track. So he returned in his car and Police escort along the road.
Foreign Minister Carr loves it hot
The onetime Prime Minister of New South Wales and now Australia’s Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, was attracted to a colourful red dish. This was at a dinner hosted by his Sri Lankan counterpart, G.L. Peiris.
On the table were a variety of Sri Lankan dishes. It took Jathika Hela Urumaya’s Udaya Gammanpila to break protocol and warn Carr.
He had helped himself to too much lunumiris or the mouth-smarting combination of hot red chillies, Maldive fish and onions.
The Western Provincial Councillor was in for a shock when Carr replied, “I am fine with hot and spicy food. I used to eat chillie sauce in Malaysia.” Carr is married to a Malaysian.
No sooner he disclosed his love for things hot and spicy, Carr turned to Admiral Tisara Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Australia, to ask about Sri Lankan restaurants in Sydney.
Bow-wow over Very Important Dog
It was a case of their roles being reversed. Police usually seek help from the public to track down criminals or rope in those who evade arrest. However, this time their tale of woe to the public was about a missing dog, a VID among the canine breed.
Last week, the Peradeniya Police had an unusual request to make from the public in their area. They sought their help to track down a police sniffer dog, a prized one said to be worth Rs. 700,000.
Belonging to a breed from Belgium, the dog had escaped after biting a veterinary surgeon at the Peradeniya University. The vet had tried to obtain a blood sample.
In a bid to ensure they get the dog back in quick time, the Police are not only offering a reward. They are also assuring that no legal action would be taken against anyone who is providing shelter to the pure bred from Belgium.
Ex-PM chairs Cabinet meeting
It fell on former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake to chair last Wednesday night’s weekly Cabinet meeting.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa was away at another engagement. In his absence, it was usually Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne who took the chair. The Premier has been ailing for some time now, and unable to attend Cabinet meetings.
Wickremanayake began by conveying a message from Rajapaksa that Ministers should pay special attention to flood victims in their respective areas.
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