Colombo: In early 2019, former Sri Lanka, President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesighe’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP) brokered government was at logger head. When Wickremesinghe was sacked by the President on October 2019 but had to be reinstated after two months on a Supreme Court order, it was certain that the UNP government would be defeated at the Presidential election end of that year.
All knew that the UNP of Wickremesinghe was not going to make a comeback and it definitely had to be a Rajapaksa. But under the Constitution, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was twice President from 2005, could not contest and the best trump card was Gotabaya, who was never in politics but held the powerful post of Defence Secretary during the war against Tamil rebels.
April 21, 2019
The Easter Sunday coordinated bombing in three churches and three hotels almost at the same time, an experience that Sri Lanka never had despite three decades of war. The Indian ocean’s tiny island was in danger and badly needed a ‘savior’. Amidst the blood and debris of multiple bombing, within a week Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced his candidacy for the Presidential election in November that year and slogan of the election battle was to “save the country from extremists”.
In a landslide victory for the first time in Sri Lanka, Gotabaya was elected with a massive 6.9 million almost all Sinhala Buddhist votes. His brother Mahinda was placed the Prime Minister. At the Parliamentary Election that followed in August 2020, the brand new party formed by Rajapaksas, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) lead by Mahinda Rajapaksa received a 2/3 majority with 150 seats out of 225. Rajapaksa became the most important name in Sri Lankan politics.
The closely knit family with majority men, were appointed to the important Cabinet portfolios.
Youngest brother in the family Basil Rajapaksa who was given a demigod status by bootleggers claiming him to possess “seven brains”, was appointed as the Finance Minister; this was without any paper qualification.
Well-known as the crafty operator of the electioneering machine, the 70-year-old Basil was called “Mr. Ten Percent” by opposition, referring to the amount of percentage in commissions he amassed from every government contract.
The eldest brother of the family, Chamal was given the irrigation ministry. His son Shasheendra Rajapaksa was appointed the Minister of fertiliser, under whose ministry controversial organic fertiliser ship with 99,000 metric tonnes of polluted fertiliser to the tune of $63 million from China was imported.
Namal, the eldest son of Mahinda Rajapaksa who entered parliament at the age of 24 in 2010 was the Sports Minister until he resigned on Sunday, April 3 together with 25 others in the Cabinet.
The young Rajapaksa was recently subjected to the wrath of public when he released photos of holidaying in the Maldives while playing in the water and the air while thousands were waiting in queues for fuel, LPG and milk powder and many families starving without proper meals.
The young Rajapaksa is facing charges of laundering $310,000 — an offence alleged to have been committed during the previous tenure from 2010 to 2015, and he is on bail. His younger brother, Yoshitha who also the chief of Staff of their father Mahinda too faces charges of money-laundering.
In the extended family, Nipuna Ranawaka, son of Rajapaksa sister Gandini is an MP too.
President Rajapaksa’s cousin and former Minster Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband’s names have been referred in Pandora Papers, a leak of nearly 12 million documents that exposed the hidden wealth, tax avoidance and, in some cases, money laundering by some of the world’s rich and powerful.
Rajapaksas’ four brothers and two sons occupying nine ministerial roles, including 7 out of 30 positions in the cabinet controlled the 24 per cent of entire cabinet.
Since mounting protest started on March 31 against Gotabaya, the president and then to all Rajapaksas, the family has been forced to stay away from politics and they have announced that they would not accept any portfolio in the cabinet which is to be appointed at anytime.
Once the saviours of Sinhala Buddhist Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksas face the worst ever rejection and dejection from Sri Lankans whose voices thundered in street on Saturday demanding ‘Rajapaksas go home’.
(IANS)
