5th Column

My dear Anguru Kumara,

I didn’t think I will be writing to you twice within three weeks. However, I thought I must do so after you achieved what most people thought was impossible — the first resignation of a Cabinet minister in this government. I don’t know what I should say, whether it is congratulations or commiserations!

I hope you don’t mind me calling you Anguru Kumara. That is only to differentiate you from your more illustrious comrade, Anura Kumara, the boss himself. Honestly, I thought your resignation was a tad too late, waiting until the government was hauled over the coals, pun intended, of course.

To begin with, there was that other indictment for an alleged offence many years ago. That is when Anura sahodaraya should have asked you to go. Instead, he said something about it not being related to what you did as a minister. Even so, you knew what was coming. You should have stepped down.

So, you waited and waited. Meanwhile, the opposition was demanding your resignation. Then, the issue was no longer about what was the right or honourable thing to do. It was about not giving in to the opposition. How dare they when we have a two-thirds majority, those in Pelawatte asked.

That is what is sad about your resignation, Anguru Kumara. When those in government reach that stage, it reflects a level of arrogance that tells us that the powers that be think they are above the law. We expect that, for instance, from the pohottuwa chaps. We didn’t expect it from the ‘maalimaawa’.

I am not an authority on what goes on behind closed doors in Pelawatte but the story goes that even Anura sahodaraya was in favour of you resigning as soon as possible but there were others who thought that the no confidence motion against should be fought to the end, ‘till we win’.

You waited until the no confidence motion was defeated and then resigned along with your secretary, saying you wanted to ensure an impartial investigation. How much more honourable it would have been if you had resigned at the outset? It would have saved the ‘maalimaawa’ so much trouble.

There are different types of resignations of ministers, Anguru Kumara. SWRD resigned as a minister from DS’s Cabinet to form a new party. Felix Dias resigned as finance minister when his party didn’t accept his budget saying he won’t come back even to grow grass but later became agriculture minister. Gamani J resigned from JR’s Cabinet because he opposed the Indo-Lanka Accord. Lalith and Gamini also resigned from Preme’s Cabinet to form their own party.

Those were all honourable resignations that made history. On the other hand, EL from Kandy resigned from JR’s Cabinet after a tender irregularity was found but was made speaker later. Decades later, another gentleman from Kandy, Keheliya, resigned from JR’s nephew Ranil’s Cabinet after another tender indiscretion emerged.

We know to which category your resignation will fall. Don’t get me wrong, Anguru Kumara. This does not mean you are guilty of what you are accused of. You are still entitled to the presumption of innocence like everyone else but it is the integrity of what the ‘maalimaawa’ promised that is lost.

We saw a hint of that with that Ranwala chap. He too should have resigned at the first sign of trouble, when he couldn’t prove he had a doctorate. He waited. However, on that occasion Anura sahodaraya cracked the whip. He had to go. The ‘maaliamaawa’s credibility was still intact, though only barely.

On resigning, Ranwala said he was only doing so to save embarrassing the government. He said he will be back ‘soon’ after proving his qualifications. One and half years later, we are still waiting. What is more, he still remains a MP. The ‘maalimaawa’ has done nothing to remove him from their ranks.

So, Anguru Kumara, when you say you are resigning to ensure an impartial investigation, we take it with a pinch of salt. The commission appointed will conduct an impartial inquiry but, having to probe all the ‘deals’ since 2009, that will surely take more time than the rest of the term of this government!

You and those in Pelawatte who wanted you to fight that no confidence motion ‘till we win’ are missing the point here, I feel. People elected Anura sahodaraya as the boss and a ‘maalimaawa’ government with a two-thirds majority not to work economic miracles or usher in prosperity.

What they wanted- and what they couldn’t get from the established parties- was a ‘system change’. They wanted zero tolerance of corruption. When there was even an inkling of that, they wanted no one to be above the law. Sadly, this is the expectation that all of you have failed to meet.

When that trust is lost, it is difficult to regain. That has happened to our ‘old’ political parties. Now, it seems as if the ‘maalimaawa’ is no different. If your party doesn’t change its attitude, you will make history as the man who marked the beginning of the end for the ‘maalimaawa’, Anguru Kumara!

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS- The ‘maalimaawa’ produces a scandal every week. After news of 2.5 million dollars being hacked from the Treasury emerged, everyone forgot about you. Now they want Anura sahodaraya to resign as Finance Minister. Ah, if only you kept your ministerial job for another week, you could still be there!