By Granville Perera –

When Mervyn Silva, the political outcast from Kelaniya is fading away another Mervyn is in the making in the Gampaha district. He is none other than Chathura Senaratne, son of Rajitha Senaratne, the current Minister of Health and one of President Maithripala Sirisena’s closest confidantes. Chathura is becoming a law onto himself and his mouth is as bad as that of the dentist with the bad mouth. His actions are second only to the now discarded Mervyn Silva.

In our miracle of Asia, politicians or their siblings and children continue to become street fighters and thugs causing huge damage to democratic polity. President Sirisena’s siblings too are no exception. A peasant murdered one of Sirisena’s brothers for sleeping with his wife, and another it is claimed has become a law unto himself in Nuwara Eliya, filling up the racecourse with debris from his luxury real estate construction project. Another sibling, the head of Telecom too has been exposed in social and alternate media. Wonder what the other eight are up to?

We had a Chief Minister from Gampaha who demanded a bribe of 50 million, and the one from whom the bribe was demanded has been told in no uncertain terms, (with the choicest words from the Sinhala vocabulary) as to what would happen to him if the full amount in bribes were not paid. This telephone conversation was recorded and made available to the relevant authorities, and sweet nothing has happened under Yahapalanaya, even after complaints were made to the highest echelons of government. We had also Yahapalanaya stalwart Arjuna Ranatunga appointing his sibling as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka ports authority. Arjuna Ranatunga was one of the most vocal against the Rajapaksa nepotism on election platforms in the run up to the January 2015 elections..

The former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s children were no exception and were accused of slapping rugby referees to suspicion of ordering the murder Wasim Thajudeen, the much loved Havelocks ruggerite. They were also accused of absolute corruption, money laundering etc. with investments by a naval rating to the tune of 2 billion in their television foray. We had the S B Dissanayake, creating mayhem a while ago and was shipped off to Australia. He now sits in the board of the Malabe Medical College, and of course our notorious Mervyn’s son Malaka who used his fathers ministerial security details to beat up anyone who opposed him. We should not forget the famous son of the former media minister who tried to open a planes’ emergency exit at 10,000 feet in air due to his drunken stupor and insisted that he tried to open the plane’s toilet door. There is no doubt that all these brats of the intolerable politicians should be flushed down the toilets.

The Magistrate’s Court of Negambo has at last issued notice on Chathura Senaratne, MP who represents the United National Party in the Gampaha District for allegedly threatening a group of individuals in custody at the Ragama Police Station. The Magistrate issued notice on Senaratne to appear before the court, after being notified by police regarding the occurrence.

Chathura had walked in to the police station (Nishantha Muthuhettigama style) and threatened 5 persons who were arrested by the police due to a clash between supporters of MPs Dr. Kavinda Jayawardena (son of the late UNP veteran from Ja-ela, Jayalath Jayewardene) and Chathura Senaratne. Three persons received treatment at the Ragama Hospital due to this clash.

Chathura Senaratne was parachuted to the Gampaha district from nowhere due to his father, Rajitha Senerate’s support for President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s election campaign in January 2015. Chathura had the audacity to challenge two-time President and a veteran parliamentarian with over 45 years of experience, Mahinda Rajapaksa to contest him in Mahinda Rajapaksa’s own home town, implying that the little brat had more popular support. He vowed to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chathura knows very well how to generate publicity for himself.

Chathura Seneratne also went to the extent of desecrating the funeral of the most venerated Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero by putting up posters, banners and hoardings all over the city of Colombo. Who gave permission to this young politician and what is the justification behind letting him have his way? The persons responsible for the funeral arrangements should be held responsible.

Yahapalanaya or Yakapalanaya, the country is full of these vultures that thrive on the naivety of the ignorant voters. It is time that the likes of Mervyn Silva and Nishantha Muthuhettigama with novice Chathura Senaratne are checked and brought to justice.

President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickramasinghe must end their honeymoon with the corrupt and horrible, and bring to book perpetrators of violence and eliminate the culture of impunity.

Failure to do so will destroy the fragile coalition and end the short-lived marriage between the UNP and SLFP.