Lucky crooks!
14 January 2017
Some prominent members of the Rajapaksa Cabinet, blamed for the
theft of public funds and various crooked deals, are currently ministers
of the yahapalana government. Their corruption and ill-gotten wealth
have not been probed. They have got the best of both worlds. Lucky
crooks! The CID, the FCID and the anti-graft commission are pursuing
only those who have banded themselves as the Joint Opposition (JO).
Yahapalana
ministers also hear cases against JO members at media briefings and
deliver judgments, so to speak. They consider any suspect who is not a
member of the ruling coalition guilty until proven innocent!
Former
Minister and National Freedom Front Leader Wimal Weerawansa, MP has
been arrested and remanded for misusing 40 state vehicles while in
power. If he is given a fair trial and the very serious charge against
him is proved beyond a reasonable doubt, deterrent punishment must be
meted out. Anyone who abuses public property deserve to be thrown
behind bars. But, that task must be left entirely to the judiciary.
Government politicians must exercise control over their restless
tongues. They themselves are no paragons of virtue as is public
knowledge. They should be mindful of the fact that a change of
government which is bound to happen sooner or later will see many of
them being arraigned on charges of abusing state properly, bribery,
corruption and other such illegal activities.
There has
emerged evidence of a mega coal racket which has not only caused an
enormous loss to the state but also increased the cost of electricity
according to Chairman of the Lanka Coal Company (LCC) Maithri
Gunaratne. People are made to pay more for electricity so that
politicians and bureaucrats can line their pockets by purchasing coal
at higher prices!
The LCC chief has revealed, as we reported
yesterday, that the culprits have gone scot free, and thanks to the
Attorney General’s Department which has been reduced to a mere
appendage of the government in power the coal tender has been awarded
to a company under a cloud. The Supreme Court itself has said the
questionable deal shocked its conscience. Worryingly, no action has
been taken against those responsible for the questionable deal. It
behoves the government to ensure that either the CID or the FCID will
launch a probe into the controversial coal tender. If any such
allegation had been made against a JO member, he would have been
arrested in next to no time.
The JHU, which is a constituent
of the yahapalana coalition, has declared that some government
ministers received kickbacks to the tune of USD 100 mn from the
Hambantota Port deal. This damning allegation has gone unprobed. An
investigation is called for.
Police arrest people suspected
of casing the joint; even those who urinate in public places are not
spared. The long arm of the law conducts ‘special operations’ to take
into custody schoolboys who scale the walls of girls’ schools during
the big match season and mercilessly beat undergraduates for holding
protests that cause tailbacks. But, those involved in the mega Central
Bank bond scams are still at large because of their political
connections. Some of them are seen in the exalted company of government
leaders.
Weerawansa is alleged to have caused a loss of Rs.
90 mn to the state. The bond scams have cost the state coffers billions
of rupees. It looks as if the government thought millions to be bigger
than billions!
The only way the government can convince the
public that its action against Weerawansa is not politically motivated
is to probe the others who are alleged to have committed the same
offence as he. They are Deputy Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanne, who was
Weerawansa’s deputy under the Rajapaksa government and UNP National
List MP Ashu Marasinghe, who was the Chairman of the State Engineering
Corporation at that time. They cannot remain above the law simply
because they have switched their allegiance to the ruling coalition.
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