{"id":61458,"date":"2018-11-08T21:54:32","date_gmt":"2018-11-09T01:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=61458"},"modified":"2018-11-08T23:13:11","modified_gmt":"2018-11-09T03:13:11","slug":"machiavellian-manipulation-by-maithripala-to-replace-ranil-with-mahinda-%f0%9f%91%91","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=61458","title":{"rendered":"Machiavellian Manipulation by Maithripala To Replace Ranil With Mahinda \ud83d\udc51"},"content":{"rendered":"

by D.B.S.Jeyaraj<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Machiavelli is the only political thinker whose name has come into common use for designating a kind of politics, which exists and will continue to exist independently of his influence, a politics guided exclusively by considerations of expediency, which uses all means, fair or foul, iron or poison, for achieving its ends \u2013 its end being the aggrandizement of one’s country or fatherland \u2013 but also using the fatherland in the service of the self-aggrandizement of the politician or statesman or one\u2019s party.
\n– Leo Strauss<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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pic courtesy of: facebook.com\/Awantha.artigala<\/p><\/div>\n

Niccol\u00f2 di Bernardo dei Machiavelli known as Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian diplomat,writer,historian and political philosopher who is regarded by some as the Father of modern political science.His most famous work was the political treatise \u201cThe Prince\u201d which gained notoriety because it supposedly justified duplicity and a cynical disregard for morality as acceptable means to achieve the ends of gaining or maintaining power.Machiavellianism derived from the name Machiavelli is a word used to describe \u201cthe employment of cunning and duplicity in statecraft or general conduct\u201d. The term Machiavellian is often associated positively with pragmatic politics and negatively with political deception and deviousness.
\n
\nVery few nations have been immune from the Machiavellian effect. The politics of almost every country would have experienced Machiavellianism in different degrees at different stages. Sri Lanka is no exception. The ongoing attempt by President Maithripala Sirisena to remove Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and replace him with ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa can arguably be described as an exercise in Machiavellian Manipulation. Some have referred to President Sirisena\u2019s coup d\u2019etat as a Constitutional coup. This has been disputed by others who say descriptions like Extra- constitutional coup , Unconstitutional coup or Anti-Constitutional Coup are more appropriate. Another school of thought supportive of Sirisena argues that the President\u2019s actions were Constitutionally valid.<\/p>\n

This writer too opines that a bloodless (so far) Coup d\u2019etat has been effected to remove and replace the lawfully elected Prime Minister. The unconstitutional action is totally anti-democratic and deserves to be condemned strongly . It must be emphasised that the objection is to the mode and manner in which this attempt has been made to oust Ranil Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister and replace him with Mahinda Rajapaksa. Had Wickremesinghe been defeated at a no confidence vote or if Mahinda Rajapaksa had been appointed after proving he commanded the confidence of the House through a floor test, there would have been no grounds to protest. Compounding the complicated situation further is the prorogation of Parliament to buy time and pave the way for high powered horse deals. The Legislature is being turned into an auction house where the souls of the peoples representatives are being sold to the side putting forward the most attractive bid.<\/p>\n

Sri Lankan Students in Overseas Universities<\/strong><\/p>\n

A refreshing silver lining in the prevailing dark cloud is the spontaneous denouncing of President Sirisena\u2019s actions by a wide section of the nation\u2019s democracy loving people. Much of the criticism and condemnation amounted to sound , well-informed , non -partisan commentary. Incisive articles by knowledgeable persons such as Jayampathy Wickramaratne, Reesa Hameed and Asanga Welikala have made it crystal clear that the Machiavellian \u201ctransfer of power\u201d is unconstitutional and therefore illegal.<\/p>\n

Among the various statements issued by different persons, groups and organizations , I would like to excerpt a few paragraphs from an open petition signed by a a group of Sri Lankan students in overseas Universities. These paragraphs sum up the situation succinctly. Here are the relevant excerpts – \u201cSince 1931 Sri Lanka has had an imperfect and fragile, yet electorally and legally mandated, democracy. On Friday the 26th of October, for the first time since Sri Lanka\u2019s independence, an unconstitutional and illegal transfer of power occurred. President Maithripala Sirisena, violating his oath of office and the mandate given to him on January 8th 2015, attempted to appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament for the Kurunegala District, as Prime Minister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was unconstitutional. The 19th Amendment deleted the President\u2019s power to remove the Prime Minister at will. While the President still appoints the Prime Minister, he has no implied power of removal since this is now governed by explicit provisions in the Constitution. Moreover, the withdrawal of the UPFA from the national government makes no difference: the Constitution does not provide that Cabinet ceases to function, and therefore that the Prime Minister loses his position, when one party in a national government withdraws its support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn any event, there is a democratic means of settling this question \u2013 a test of confidence on the floor of Parliament. Yet President Sirisena and Mr. Rajapaksa did not propose a motion of no-confidence or engineer a defeat of the Budget to remove Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. Indeed even after Mr. Rajapaksa\u2019s illegal appointment, President Sirisena decided to prorogue Parliament, demonstrating what was clear from the beginning: Mr. Rajapaksa does not have the confidence of a majority of the representatives of the people. His covert appointment, the illegal attempt to remove Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, the suspension of Parliament without consulting the Speaker, and the mob-led take-over of State media institutions make it clear that this is a coup d\u2019etat\u201d.<\/p>\n

Televised Address to the Nation<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Maithripala Sirisena in his televised address to the nation on October 28th outlined his reasons for the removal of Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The address was not very convincing.If the intention was to win over the Sri Lankan people to his point of view, the speech- making turned out to be an exercise in futility. In a sense it was even counter-productive.
\nAlthough president Sirisena defended his actions by saying he had not acted unconstitutionally, he did not back up his assertion with solid supportive facts. He never even mentioned that Wickremesinghe was dismissed because the Prime minister did not have a majority in the House. Of course the President could not say that because it has not happened as yet. Instead he came out with tirade of complaints against Ranil Wickremesinghe. The lengthy litany of woes demonstrated the personal level of animus held by Maithripala against Ranil. At the end of it all the overall impression was that President Sirisena was thoroughly prejudiced against Wickremesinghe and had got rid of his Prime Minister only because he could not get along with him and not for any other reason.<\/p>\n

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October 26, 2018-via: facebook.com\/PresidentRajapaksa<\/p><\/div>\n

Another huge howler was Maithripala Sirisena\u2019s failure to realise or grasp the irony of the situation while evoking memories about how he courageously contested the Jan 8 2015 Presidential election amidst danger and hardship. The President said \u201cI believe that you remember the circumstances under which I became the common candidate in 2014 and the dangers I had to face in consequence. It was a risk and a challenge that no politician in the history of the country wanted to accept. I faced this challenge despite the dangers to me and my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Maithripala Sirisena revived memories about the dangers he faced while contesting the Presidency, the question that arises is – what were those dangers and from whom? Who was his main electoral rival? It was none other than the then incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa! The dangers Maithripala faced then came from that quarter. When Maithri hid with his family at a Dodangaslanda plantation on Election night or when he said tearfully that he may have been six feet under had he lost the polls, whom did he fear then? Was it not Mahinda Rajapaksa? And when he contested as common candidate was it not the UNP led by Ranil Wickremesinghe who supported him strongly? Today the very same Sirisena was castigating Wickremesinghe and replacing him with Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister. It was indeed pathetic to see that Sirisena was totally oblivious to this irony!<\/p>\n

Mahinda Back To Power Through Backdoor<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Maithripala Sirisena after commencing his address to the nation stated as follows \u2013 \u201cOn January 08, 2015, it was with so many expectations that nearly six million and two hundred thousand (6.25 million) people of my country chose me as your first servant and the leader of this nation. I wish to pledge that I will always fulfil the expectations and honour the trust and faith you have placed on me, even at the cost of my life\u201d. What the president seemed to have conveniently ignored, overlooked or glossed over was the fact that more than six million people had voted for him in 2015 so that Mahinda Rajapaksa could be defeated electorally. After receiving such a mandate then , Maithripala Sirisena had flagrantly flouted it and shocked those who voted for him by bringing in the same Mahinda Rajapaksa back to the seat of power through the back door! This amounts to a great betrayal.<\/p>\n

This does not mean that President Sirisena was entirely wrong in apportioning blame on Ranil Wickremesinghe for certain acts of omission and commission. One does sympathise with President Sirisena when he refers to Ranil\u2019s decadent cronyism by saying \u201cMr Wickremesinghe and his group of closest friends, who belonged to a privileged class did not understand the pulse of the people and conducted themselves as if shaping the future of the country was a fun game they played\u201d. One elso empathises with the \u201ccommon man from Polonnaruwa\u201d when he pinpoints the differences between himself and the \u201cRoyal Ranil\u201d by saying \u201c I noted that there were also differences of culture between Mr Wickremesinghe and me. I believe that all those differences in policy, culture, personality and conduct aggravated this political and economic crisis\u201d. However much one understands the rationale behind Sirisena\u2019s hostile conduct against Ranil , the President cannot be condoned for what he did and even more importantly, how he went about doing it.<\/p>\n

What he did in a nutshell is this. President Sirisena removed Ranil Wickremesinghe from Prime ministerial office while the UNP leader continued to retain the confidence of the majority of parliamentarians. President Sirisena also appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister even though he did not have the required majority in Parliament. Having done this, President Sirisena is now collaborating with the Rajapaksas to cobble together a majority by coaxing, cajoling or coercing MP\u2019s of all party hues. In order to gain enough time to facilitate this process of acquiring MP\u2019s, President Sirisena has arbitrarily prorogued Parliament until November 16th. A disgraceful of \u201cMP Harvesting\u201d is now going on. It is very likely that Sirisena may re-convene Parliament earlier than the specified date if the necessary number of MP\u2019s are garnered. Likewise the president may also extend the prorogation further if the set target is not reached by Nov 16th.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Enemy\u2019s Enemy is my Friend\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is blatantly clear that Maithripala Sirisena has inextricably entangled himself with this Machiavellian political project. Otherwise he would not have stated he would quit within an hour or two if Ranil Wickremesinghe returns as Prime Minister. Mahinda Rajapaksa too is inter-twined with Maithripala Sirisena in this exercise to oust Ranil Wickremesinghe. It is a case of \u201cmy enemy\u2019s enemy is my friend\u201d or two enemies sinking their differences temporarily and getting together in a tactical alliance to destroy a common enemy. Both Maithripala and Mahinda seem to have forgotten how Sirisena defected after a meal of egg hoppers, teamed up with arch rival UNP and defeated \u201cMedamulana\u201dMahinda. There is a convergence of interests for now between Maithri and Mahinda but there is no identity of interests. Thus old wounds are likely to be re-opened or new issues created after the common goal of ousting Ranil and consolidating power is realised.<\/p>\n

A not -so \u2013 exact parallel that comes to mind is the brief \u201choneymoon\u201d between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)led by Veluppilaai Prabhakaran and the Sri Lankan Government and State headed by President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1989 -90. The Indo-Lanka accord had been signed and the Indian Army was in North – Eastern Sri Lanka fighting the tigers.The nationalistic Premadasa feared Indian expansionism and had contested the 1988 presidential poll on a platform of making the Indian Peace Keeping Force(IPKF) quit Lanka. Besides the JVP was on a killing spree claiming to oppose India. On the war front, the LTTE was hard-pressed with India saturating the N-E region with a large number of troops. So Prabhakaran too needed a respite.<\/p>\n

Both parties wanted the Indians out. Hence both Premadasa and Prabhakaran arrived at an astounding agreement and ceasefire. This enabled Premadasa to demand the withdrawal of the Indian Army. The Indian army left Lanka. At the same time the Armed forces were able to crush the JVP militarily. There was however only a temporary convergence of interests between the Premadasa Govt and the Prabhakaran -led LTTE. There was no identity of interests. So after the Indians left fully in March 1990, the old enmity re- surfaced and there was war again between the armed forces and LTTE in June 1990. Such a scenario is likely to be replicated again in the case of Maithripala and Mahinda too in a post -Ranil environment.<\/p>\n

Minimum Magic Number of 113<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is however a lot of ground to be covered before this prognosis proves to be correct or incorrect. What matters is the here and now. The immediate objective of both the Maithripala -Mahinda camp as well as the Ranil Wickremesinghe camp is to win the numbers game.Both sides need the minimum magic number of 113 to gain a majority of at least in a legislature of 225. When the crisis began, the Ranil Wickremesinghe led United National Front consisting of the UNP and other Tamil and Muslim parties had 107 seats, The combined strength of the Sirisena led UPFA and SLFP factions, the Joint opposition – Podujana Peramuna MP\u2019s led by Mahinda Rajapaksa and the group of 16 SLFP\/UPFA \u201corphaned\u201dMP\u2019s numbered 95. After the splintering and defections began both sides now have over a 100 each. The Sirisena -Rajapaksa duo however want at least 120 MP\u2019s in hand before a vote count is taken on or before the 16th. It is the final floor test in the House tht will determine the outcome of the current crisis. The UNP led Govt received a morale booster when the Tamil National Alliance(TNA) officially extended issue -based support to \u201cDe Jure\u201d Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.<\/p>\n

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October 29, 2018-via: facebook.com\/ranil.wickremesinghe.leader<\/p><\/div>\n

The new Sirisena-Rajapaksa \u201cGovt\u201d at the moment has 17 ministers including Sirisena,8 state ministers and 8 deputy ministers.Almost all the ministers are from the SLFP factions, UNP renegades and other parties like the EPDP and CWC. The core group of Joint opposition MP\u2019s are not taking any posts so that those crossing over from other parties could be accommodated. Intensive campaigning is going on by both sides. Mahinda\u2019s side is enticing as many MP\u2019s as possible from other parties.Rani\u2019s side is trying hard to restrain its members from crossing over. It is also trying to woo a few MP\u2019s from the other side but with little success so fsr.<\/p>\n

President Sirisena, his newly appointed Prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, brother Basil Rajapaksa and sons Namal and Yoshita Rajapaksa are spearheading the hunt for MP\u2019s on one side.They are being aided by stalwarts such as Dulles Alahapperuma, SB Disanayake, Susil Premajayantha etc. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa issued a statement supporting the new Government but has not engaged in fishing for MP\u2019s.A large number of UNP Parliamentarians along with influential UNP working committee members are canvassing on Ranil Wickremesinghe\u2019s behalf. Chief among them are Mangala Samaraweera, Daya Gamage, Harin Fernando, Mujibur Rahman and Sagala Ratnayake. Also in the fray is Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga who has managed to prevent some MP\u2019s with a SLFP bsckground from crossing over to Mahinda\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

Wasantha Senanayake and Vadivel Suresh<\/strong><\/p>\n

The situation is fluid and fickle. Loyalties and affiliations fluctuate rapidly. Two examples being that of parliamentarians Wasantha Senanayake and Vadivel Suresh. Senanayake the great grandson of the \u201cFather of the Nation\u201d D.S. Senanayake, announces he is crossing over to Mahinda\u2019s side from abroad. He Returns to Lanka and meets Ranil Wickremesinghe assuring him of his loyalty. Wasantha then surfaces as a cabinet minister – in charge of Tourism and Wildlife – being sworn in by Sirisena. Vadivel Suresh is photographed wrapping a \u201cPonnaadai\u201d (golden shawl) around Mahinda\u2019s shoulders amidst speculation that he has gone over to the Rajapaksas. He is next seen sitting meekly with folded hands in front of Ranil explaining that he merely paid a courtesy call to Mahinda and blamed the media for distorting news. Then in another somersault Suresh is at the swearing in ceremony being sworn in as a State minister of Plantation Industries by Sirisena.<\/p>\n

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With Vadivel Suresh<\/p><\/div>\n

Five UNP\u2019ers including Senananayake and Suresh who defected to the Sirisena-Rajapaksa administration were sworn together in by President Sirisena. The others are Dr.Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe the new Minister of Education and Higher Education, Deputy minister of Tourism and Wildlife Ananda Aluthgamage and State minister of Environment Dunesh Gankanda. More UNP MP\u2019s were expected to follow this famous five. So the UNP hierarchy intensified efforts to prevent more rooss overs.<\/p>\n

A few days Later the UNP heard that Kurunegala District MP S.B.Nawinne was planning to cross over.Nawinne a former North Western province chief minister was a long standing SLFP\u2019er who jumped ship after Maithripala won the Presidential poll. He contested as a UNF candidate under the Elephant symbol in August 2015. Upon hearing that Nawinne was planning to become a minister under \u201cPremier\u201dMahinda\u2019s cabinrt UNP National Organizer Daya Gamage and vetweran Wayamba politician Gamini Jayawickrama Perera flew to Kurunegala by Helicopter in a last minute bid to stop him.But Nawinne travelled by car from Kurunegala to Colombo via Negombo and got sworn in as Cultural affairs minister.Another MP tipped to cross over is Ven. Athureliya Rathana Thero.<\/p>\n

The prize catch for which Basil Rajapaksa is yet angling is a group of UNP Parliamentarians led by Ravi Karunanayake. The former Finance and Foreign Affairs minister is supposedly cheesed off with Ranil Wickremesinghe for not re-appointing him minister as promised earlier. According to Ravi\u2019s friends, Karunanayake feels Ranil is prevented from doing so by erstwhile ministerial colleagues Malik Samarawickrama and Kabir Hashim. Apparently Ravi Karunanayake has earned the support of a \u201cGinger Group\u201dof UNP backbenchers by dispensing financial favours during his stint as Finance minister. At least seven of these MP\u2019s could follow Ravi into the Sirisena -Rajapaksa camp if Karunayake opts to change sides. But the hitch is thar Ravi Karunanayake wanted the Finance or Foreign Affairs ministry both of which could not be given to him by Maithripala and Mahinda.. He was offered an alternative \u201ceconomic\u201dministry which Ravi is reluctant to accept. However Ravi Karunanayake was seen at the Peoples Protest in support of Ranil. He has also had a \u201cheart to heart\u201dchat with Wickremesinghe. Only time will tell whether Ravi remains loyal to Ranil or not.<\/p>\n

Efforts On to Win Over UNP Stalwarts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since talks with Ravi Karunanayake are yet to bear fruit, efforts are also underway to woo members of the UNP ginger group individually like Gampaha district MP Dr.Kavinda Jayawardana and Kandy district MP Mayantha Dissanayake. Intensive efforts were also on to win over other UNP stalwarts who are not so favourably inclined towards Ranil like Palitha Range Bandara, Lucky Jayawardena and Palitha Kumara Thewarapperuma. Thewarapperuma has rejected all offers but talks with the others kept proceeding.<\/p>\n

Then Range Bandara dropped a bombshell by disclosing publicly that he had been offered a hefty bribe of 50 Crore rupees to defect. He also released what were allegedly tape recordings of the telephone conversations. One of the persons who made the offer was allegedly SB Dissanayake. Another person allegedly implicated was the coordinator of Yoshita Rajapaksa the second son of Mahinda and Shiranthi Rajapaksa.Range Bandara is to lodge a complaint to the Police and Bribery commission.<\/p>\n

While the UNP was being targeted for cross overs, a segment of the SLFP too was in the throes of a crisis. A group of SLFP parliamentarians led by SLFP Gen -Secy and cabinet minister Duminda Dissanayake was reluctant to join with the Rajapaksa led Govt because they were not sure of their future under a Rajapaksa led regime. Fundamentally they feared re-nomination at the next hustings. Dissanayake informed Maithripala that they would remain as an \u201cindependent \u201cGroup in Parliament and abstain from voting. However after several rounds of talks with Mahinda, Maithripala and Basil, an agreement was reached and guarantees were given. A group of 13 SLFP Parliamentarians including Duminda Dissanayake took oaths together as Ministers, state ministers and deputy -ministers. A few days later senior SLFP politician AHM Fowzie took oaths as State minister of National Unity. However some others with SLFP antecedents like Lasantha Alagiyawanna and Hirunika Premachandra still remain within the Ranil camp mainly due to the restraining influence of Chandrika Kumaratunga.<\/p>\n

Initiatives have also been taken to woo Muslim parties. A very friendly equation exists between All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) leader Rishad Bathiudeen and Basil Rajapaksa. According to ACMC sources senior MP Ameer Ali Shihabdeen conducted negotiations with Basil Rajapaksa because Rishad was out of the country. The Rajapaksas expect Rishad and Ameer Ali along with other ACMC parliamentarians to cross over by Nov 5th. The Industries and Commerce ministry is being kept in readiness for Bathiudeen.<\/p>\n

However after returning to Colombo Rishad has expressed criticism of the way in which Mahinda was appointed Premier. He has pledged support to Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. However Rishad is constantly under pressure to cross over. Meanwhile Eastern Province Governor and ex-Foreign affairs minister Rohitha Bogollagama has been interacting with Ameer Ali Shihabdeen in a bid to entice him into the Govt in formation. If Ameer Ali that would place Rishad Bathiudeen in a quandary.<\/p>\n

Since Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem is regarded as being close to the UNP and Ranil Wickremesinghe, the SLMC is perceived as being hard to get. However Basil Rajapaksa is said to have made a breakthrough with Amparai district SLMC Parliamentarian MHM Harees. He is apparently ready to jump ship and is also trying to bring along a few other fellow MP\u2019s from the SLMC along with him. At the same time some representatives of a Muslim religious organization are trying to talk to Hakeem on behalf of Mahinda Rajapaksa and get the SLMC on board if possible.<\/p>\n

Mano Ganesan Issued Statement<\/strong><\/p>\n

As for the Tamil parties the solitary MP from the EPDP Douglas Devananda was one of the first to team up with Mahinda and has been given the same portfolio held by DM Swaminathan of the UNP earlier. The CWC with two MP\u2019s is also in with Mahinda. CWC Leader Arumugan Thondaman has been entrusted with the same ministries that came under TPA leader P. Digamparam earlier. In an interesting move two MP\u2019s from the Up Country Peoples Front V.Radhakrishnan and A. Aravindh Kumar have engaged in discussions with the Rajapaksas. The final outcome of the talks remain unknown. While Tamil Progressive Alliance leader Mano Ganesan has issued a statement to the effect that the Tamil and Muslim parties will be supportive of Ranil Wickremesinghe, it is learnt that at least one TPA MP from Kandy M. Velu Kumar is all set to cross over.<\/p>\n

Finally we come to the two main opposition parties the Tamil National Alliance(TNA) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna(JVP). The JVP has been critical of both Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena. While there is no love lost between the JVP and UNP, the crimson comrades hate and perhaps fear the return of the Rajapaksas more.However it is too early to predict what the JVP will do. The JVP attended the meeting held by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya in a Parliament committee room where 118 MP\u2019s signed a resolution condemning the unconstitutional appointment of purported prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. This was seen as support to the UNP. However the JVP Kalutara dist MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa told \u201cThe Island\u201d that the party was remaining neutral in the UNP \u2013 SLFP power struggle.<\/p>\n

The TNA with 16 MP\u2019s may very well be the decisive factor in determining who commands majority support in Parliament. It may be recalled that the TNA played a crucial role in helping to defeat the no confidence motion against Ranil Wickremesinghe some months ago. Initially the TNA did not reveal its future course of action s. TNA leader Sampanthan, deputy leader Senathirajah and spokesperson Sumanthiran have been supportive of Ranil Wickremesinghe in the past and were likely to be so in the future too. When TNA leader Sampanthan met with Mahinda Rajapaksa at the latter\u2019s invitation, the veteran Tamil leader remained non committal when asked for support. <\/p>\n

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Meeting with TNA leader-October 30<\/p><\/div>\n

Although the TNA played its cards close to its chest and planned to announce their decision only in the penultimate stage before voting, events began to overtake. While wooing the TNA as an entity , talks were also held on behalf of Maithripala and Mahinda with some TNA MP\u201ds on an individual basis. The aim was to get a few to cross over failing which the goal was to get some TNA Parliamentarians to abstain from voting.It is learnt that discussions have taken place with Dharmalingam Siddharthan, Dr. S. Sivamohan, Charles Nirmalanathan , E. Saravanavan and Sivasakthy Anandan in Sri Lanka. All of them have been non \u2013 committal up to now<\/p>\n

But the \u201cupset\u201d was caused by Batticaloa district MP Sathasivam Viyalendran who is one of the two PLOTE MP\u2019s elected from the TNA. Viyalendran was in Canada when Sirisena appointed Mahinda as PM. Viyalendran was contacted by several people on behalf of Maithripala and Mahinda. These included ex-MP Jeyaratnan Sri Renga and Eastern Governor Bogollagama. An agreement was reached. While the TNA leadership thought Viyalendran was still in Canada, the MP returned quietly and was whisked off from Katunayake in a Govt vehicle to President Sirisena. Viyalendran was sworn in as Deputy minister of Regional Development.<\/p>\n

This shocked the TNA leadership. Earlier some sections of the TNA had wanted the party to remain neutral in this power struggle, But after Viyalendran\u2019s cross over the TNA closed ranks and decided to vote against Mahinda Rajapaksa when a no confidence motion was taken up. The TNA in a statement said Mr.Rajapaksa\u2019s appointment as the Prime Minister was unconstitutional and illegal . \u201cRemaining \u201cneutral\u201d in such a situation, would pave the way for achieving an undemocratic end by force,\u201d it further said.The TNA also said disciplinary action would be taken against Viyalendran. However despite the TNA\u2019s official decision it is still possible for a few individual MP\u2019s to cross over. A Wanni district MP is supposedly next.<\/p>\n

\u201cCount Your MP\u2019s Name Them One By One\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This then is the current state of affairs where all bets are off and everything is up for sale. Frantic efforts are being made by both sides to form the majority or obtain majority support in Parliament. It remains to be seen whether the Machiavellian machinations of the Maithripala -Mahinda duo will succeed or not. There is a Christian hymn in which the chorus is \u201cCount your blessings, name them one by one\u201d. In the Sri Lankan Parliament the chorus in the coming days will be \u201cCount your MP\u2019s, name them one by one\u201d!<\/p>\n

DBS Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com<\/font> <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This is an UPDATED version of the article written for the \u201cDBS Jeyaraj Column\u201d appearing in the \u201cDaily Mirror\u201d of November 3rd, 2018. It can be reached via this link:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.dailymirror.lk\/article\/Machiavellian-Moves-by-Maithripala-and-Mahinda-to-Oust-Ranil-157862.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by D.B.S.Jeyaraj “Machiavelli is the only political thinker whose name has come into common use for designating a kind of politics, which exists and will continue to exist independently of his influence, a politics guided exclusively by considerations of expediency, which uses all means, fair or foul, iron or poison, for achieving its ends \u2013 …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Machiavellian Manipulation by Maithripala To Replace Ranil With Mahinda \ud83d\udc51’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61458"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61458"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61495,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61458\/revisions\/61495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}