Diana Gamage and Ajahn Brahm

Tourism State Minister Diana Gamage, whose eligibility to remain a Member of Parliament has remained an open question for a long time now since she ceased her allegiance with the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) on whose National List she entered the legislature in 2020, was back in the news last week. The Appeal Court determination of an action challenging her continuance as an MP, that was due to be delivered on Tuesday, has now been postponed for July 25 by a two-judge bench. This made front page news nationally.

No reason for the delay has been publicly adduced. While it is not uncommon for the courts to sometimes reserve judgment sine die, it is less frequent for dates specified for delivery of such orders being further delayed. However that be, those anxious to know – and there are many such – whether a second glamorous lady MP was being ejected from the legislature (well know actress Geetha Kumarasinghe was the first) will now have to wait longer to get an answer.

Gamage, once called Princess Diana in parliament by her boss Minister Harin Fernando, has been a controversial figure. When UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and his deputy, Sajith Premadasa, parted company before the last parliamentary election, the then unrecognized SJB had to acquire an already recognized party to field its candidates at those hustings.

This was provided by Gamage and her husband, Senaka de Silva, a retired military officer who was a key ally of General Sarath Fonseka when he ran for president. No doubt Gamage’s appointment to the House on the SJB National List and her appointment as Deputy Secretary or that party was part of that arrangement. As recently as last week, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara claimed in parliament that Gamage does not hold party office citing the Election Commission’s website as evidence.

Madduma Bandara went so far as saying that the SJB made a mistake in acquiring a party “from people who make faked documents.” He said that buyers examine the pedigree “even before buying a dog.” But apart from admitting the “mistake,” he didn’t elaborate on his party’s failure if not culpability. However that be, the public are entitled to know in what manner the continuing problem of the long list of parties officially recognized by the election authorities is going to be resolved once and for all. There is no escaping the reality that the recognition of factually non-existent ‘ghost’ parties enable shady arrangements that have been made time and again for opportunistic reasons.

The SJB today no doubt wishes to see the back of Diana Gamage who claims “ownership” of that party not only from its list of office bearers but from parliament as well. Although there are provisions in the law to disqualify MPs who had entered the legislature under the proportional representation system from continuing to sit and vote in parliament after being expelled by their parties, this provision has not been successfully invoked for a very long time. The reason for this has been attributed to a past judgment of the Sarath Silva Supreme Court.

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa went through a long drawn process to renounce his U.S. citizenship to successfully run for president in November 2019. Given the way events played out and the difficulty he had in finding a permanent domicile after his unceremonious departure from office last year, he may well be regretting that decision or even enjoying that “one crowded hour of glorious fame” rather than an age without a name. In this case though he did have a long tenure as a war-winning Defence Secretary.

GR eventually returned home to the lavish pension and perquisites this bankrupt country accords its past rulers. There have been recent reports that Rajapaksa has now been assigned a second government bungalow, previously used by the foreign minister as his official residence. This was because the first at Malalasekera Mawatha was deemed “too noisy.” The aragalaya did get rid of Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa, but the much yearned for system change was not to be. Business continues as usual as far as our politicians are concerned.

The headline for this commentary was purely applied to describe the content of this editorial and not compare two personalities. There obviously can be no comparison between the two personalities named. Ajahn Brahm is a highly accomplished Buddhaputra and this country was privileged to host him for nine days recently. His visit gave boundless joy to thousands of Buddhists able to benefit from both his wisdom and his presence. The spot of dung so often polluting the pot of milk in this country unfortunately turned up when Ajahn’s departure for Australia via Singapore was delayed for as long as 12 hours. This was as a result of the anxiety of officials to stooge political panjandrums at the expense of looking after the venerable monk.

His reaction to the incident over which the president is reported to have ordered an inquiry was typical of the bigness of the man. He didn’t want fault finding or punishment imposed on whoever culpable and advised focus on what really matters. We are sure that Ajahn did not seek VIP lounge facilities or privileges for himself. These were probably arranged without his knowledge. If he was not in the VIP lounge and not at the mercy of those responsible for his misadventure, he would most probably have not missed his flight. There are many lessons for all of us to learn from Ajahn Brahm. Among these are the spirit of generosity he has demonstrated and the ability not to dwell on irritants that are past.