The cat is poking its head out of the bag

The JVP has boycotted the swearing in ceremony of the ministers. According to today's news papers, the reason was that they didn't get the Mahavelli (irrigation) ministry. Another UPFA member has done the same. The reason for that, according to today's papers was that he didn't get the ministry of sports. The person is former Sri Lankan test cricket captain Mr. Arjuna Ranathunga. According to the news papers, the president has not given Mr. Ranathunga the ministry of sports because Thilanga Sumathipala the arch rival of Ranathunga and also a member of the family that runs the largest network of horse racing bookies and also the chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom and the president of Cricket board has asked not to give the ministry to Mr. Ranathunga. Thilanga has promised (according to news papers) to get the support of the JHU (Buddhist monks' party) for the new government. Thilanga is currently in jail pending trial for immigration fraud. He is accused of sending a leader of one of the mafia gangs to UK to watch the cricket world cup with the money of the Cricket board under a false passport. Anyway, one might wonder how he could secure the support of the JHU. Well you don't need to look far. His mother is the chairperson of the Buddhist congress and it is believed that it's the money of his family that funded the JHU in the last election. Maybe that's why the JHU, which says that the country should become a religious state and ban all bars and casinos but doesn't even mention betting on horse races. There may be 50 or maybe 100 casinos. But there are at least 1000 race bookies. At least one in every town and village. Only the elite goes to the casinos but all the people who bet on horses are from the poor families. It's the manual labourors who earn less than Rs.200 a day that goes to these bookies and waste half the money they earn. It's the poor families that suffer from the addiction of their men folk to betting on horse races and not the rich. But the JHU seems to be more concerned about the casinos than these race bookies. They are not at all concerned about the bookies. They seem to be only concerned about the welfare of the rich and not at all concerned about the poor. They never say a word against race bookies. How can they, when the money that fund their election campaign come from the bookies. All this reminds me of Syoko Asahara, Japanese Buddhist cult leader, mass murderer and first class nut. He had his own TV programs where they show a cartoon animation where Asahara rides a Horse with wings and come to the salvation or the people. JHU can also have TV programs where the monks could be depicted riding horses and comming to the salvation of the Buddhists of Sri Lanka. They would surely get the sponsorship of "Sporting Star" which is the gambling network owned by the Sumathipala family for the TV programs. So now the cat is slowly poking its head out of the bag. It will be completely out when Thilanga secures the support of JHU to the new government. Then we would be able to see what this Buddhist revival is really about wouldn't we?