தினப்பொறி- மலையகப் பெருந்தோட்ட தொழிலாள மக்களும் வாக்குப் பொறுக்கிகளும்

 

2

யார் கொள்ளையர்கள், வளங்களைக் கொள்ளை அடிக்கின்ற இந்தியரா? விரட்டியடிக்கின்ற இலங்கையரா?

 

India’s Bharti to buy 24.5% BT stake from Patrick Drahi’s Altice

India’s Bharti to buy 24.5% BT stake from Patrick Drahi’s Altice

Embattled French tycoon to raise funds through deal with billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal’s conglomerate 

Mittal: from bicycles to billions from India’s telecoms boom

Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises will become the largest shareholder in the UK’s BT Group after agreeing to buy the stake of billionaire Patrick Drahi’s struggling Altice.

BT was the biggest riser on the FTSE 100 on Monday after the announcement, with its shares closing up 8.5% at 141.50p.

Bharti has agreed to buy 24.5% of BT’s shares, but said it had no intention of making an offer to buy the whole company, in a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Monday.

The Indian group flattered the new Labour government, saying that it was “a vote of confidence in the UK as an attractive global destination for investment, with a stable business and policy environment attractive for long-term investors”.

Yet the sale – at an undisclosed price – also reflects the difficulties facing Drahi’s empire. It bought the first part of the BT stake in 2021, but is now struggling under a $60bn (£47bn) debt load, after apparently being caught off guard by rapidly rising interest rates, and is also dealing with corruption allegations that prompted a Portuguese criminal investigation.

Although the bulk of his wealth was tied to Altice’s telecoms operations, Drahi has come to greater public prominence through his interest in the art world. He owns works by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, and paid $3.7bn in 2019 for the Sotheby’s auction house. Sotheby’s last week sold a minority stake to ADQ, Abu Dhabi’s third biggest sovereign wealth fund, as it looked for cash to invest in a turnaround.

Sunil Bharti Mittal

Bharti said it would buy the first part of Altice’s BT stake, equivalent to 9.99% of the UK company, and the remaining 14.51% will be bought when the company receives regulators’ permission.

Analysts at New Street Research said the 9% stake was worth about £980m, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Bharti also said it is applying voluntarily for clearance under the UK’s National Security and Investment Act, which gives the government oversight of takeovers involving critical infrastructure. The threshold for mandatory notification of government is 25%.

The investment means Bharti’s relationship with BT has come full circle. The British company previously owned a 21% stake along with two board seats in Bharti Airtel Ltd from 1997 to 2001.

Bharti entered the telecoms industry in 1995. Sunil Bharti Mittal founded the company in 1976 as a bicycle components manufacturer, but expanded the business, building one of the conglomerates that dominate India’s economy. Bharti reaches from hotels and property – including the Scottish resort Gleneagles and the upmarket hotel chain The Hoxton – to telecoms and into space with a satellites arm.

Bharti Airtel, the telecoms arm, is the world’s third-biggest mobile service provider by subscriber numbers, and Mittal’s wealth is estimated to be $23bn, making him the world’s 84th-richest person, according to Bloomberg.

Mittal said: “This investment demonstrates the confidence we have in BT and in the UK. BT has a strong portfolio of market-leading brands, high-quality assets and an experienced management team with a compelling strategy mandated by the BT board to deliver value over the long term, which we fully support.

“BT is playing a vital role to expand access to full-fibre broadband infrastructure for millions of people across the UK. Its focus on strengthening its networks, driving consumer growth, and optimising every aspect of its business makes it well placed to consolidate its position as a leading global telecoms company.”

Allison Kirkby, the BT chief executive, said: “We welcome investors who recognise the long-term value of our business, and this scale of investment from Bharti Global is a great vote of confidence in the future of BT Group and our strategy.

“BT has enjoyed a long association with Bharti Enterprises, and I’m pleased that they share our ambition and vision for the future of our business. They have a strong track record of success in the sector, and I look forward to ongoing and positive engagement with them in the months and years to come.”

In June, the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim invested £400m in 3% stake in BT.⍐

Defense secretary orders submarine to Middle East ahead of anticipated Iran attack

 

The USS Georgia transits the Gulf, outbound from a sustainment and logistics visit in Manama, Bahrain, on December 27, 2020. (Spc. William Gore/US Navy/Reuters/File via CNN Newsource)

BY OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN KSLTV.com

(CNN) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and accelerated the arrival of a carrier strike group to the region ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack against Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement Sunday evening.

The USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine armed with cruise missiles, was operating in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days, according to the Navy, having just completed training near Italy.

Austin ordered the submarine into the waters of the Middle East, the Pentagon said. The movement of U.S. missile submarines is rarely revealed publicly, and the nuclear-powered vessels operate in near-complete secrecy.

The announcement of a submarine’s movement is a clear message of deterrence to Iran and its proxies, who the U.S. and Israel believe are preparing for a potential large-scale attack on Israel.

The looming Iranian attack would come in response to Israel last month killing the top military commander for Iran’s most powerful proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon. The next day, Israel is widely believed to have assassinated Hamas’ political leader in Tehran, which Israel has not admitted to carrying out.

The Israel Defense Forces reported Sunday evening that around 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon, though some fell into open areas and no injuries were reported. Hezbollah said overnight that the rockets were in support of “steadfast Palestinian people” in Gaza and in retaliation to Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.

Austin’s announcement came in a readout of a call between the defense secretary and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant. The two spoke about “efforts to deter aggression by Iran, Lebanese Hizballah, and other Iran-aligned groups across the region,” the readout said.

Austin also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to accelerate its transit to the Middle East, the Pentagon said. The defense secretary had ordered the Lincoln strike group to the Middle East on August 2, but its ships carried out port calls in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands along the way, according to the Navy.

The Lincoln strike group consists of the carrier, which operates with stealth F-35C fighter jets, as well as several destroyers.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group has been operating in the waters of the Middle East for several weeks, giving the U.S. a formidable presence in the region. The USS Wasp amphibious ready group, which includes a force of thousands of Marines capable of special operations, is already operating in the Mediterranean Sea.⍐

UK riots: When will West accept that Western dominance has ended?

 

UK riots: When will West accept that Western dominance has ended?

By Global Times Published: Aug 12, 2024

In the summer of 2024, Britain again faced the threat of riots. Since the vigil held in Southport on July 30, far-right extremists have organized several large-scale violent protests across the UK. According to information released by the British police, these violent events have the backing of the now-disbanded far-right group, the English Defence League.

David Olusoga, a British historian, wrote in The Observer that there are no excuses. The UK riots were a product of violent racism fueled by populism. This phenomenon isn't unique to the UK. In recent years, similar scenes have unfolded in the US and Europe, targeting not just immigrants but the very fabric of a multicultural society. It reflects deeper social and economic issues related to how Westerners see their status and identity in the world. What drives these rioters? What are they truly seeking, and can their desires ever be fulfilled?

At first glance, the rioters' grievances seem complex, but they essentially boil down to a fear of losing economic opportunities, as well as their social status and cultural identity. 

As globalization and technological advancements reshape economies, traditional industries decline and inequality widens. Many yearn for a bygone era of perceived stability and abundance. They feel their social standing and cultural identity are threatened, especially in the face of increasing diversity and demographic shifts. Populists exploit these anxieties; social media keeps fueling impulses for violence, channeling them into hostility toward minorities and immigrants.

However, the "golden age" when the West led globalization and profited the most, which these rioters seek to reclaim, is a romanticized illusion. Globalization has brought irreversible changes in the economic and social structures of Western countries.

Attempting to turn back the clock is akin to trying to unscramble an egg - it's simply impossible. The past, with all its perceived glories, is gone for good. 

The worldview of white supremacy further constrains their perspective on global changes. This narrow lens prevents them from embracing the diversity and complexity that globalization brings. Instead of introspection and addressing structural issues, they scapegoat external factors for their predicaments. This mindset colors their view of globalization and influences their nations' foreign policies. It also determines how they will view the rise of a significant Eastern country - China.

The West seeing China's development in a fairer and more rational light depends on whether it can pull itself out of the populist trap. The impossibility of returning to this idealized past necessitates a recalibration of the West's approach to international relations. Globalization has reshaped the world's economic and political landscape, and the West is no longer the sole dominant force. As the saying goes, "The only constant is change." Accepting an era where the West doesn't call all the shots is a reality these nations must face in the new century.

As the British philosopher Alan Watts once said, "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." Only by accepting change can one find new opportunities and happiness within it. This means adopting a more open and inclusive approach to foreign relations, acknowledging and respecting the interests and perspectives of other nations. Only then can the West find its footing in the globalized era and achieve genuine prosperity and stability.

In this process, the people of Western nations must also adjust their mindset, letting go of their fixation on the past and embracing diversity and change. 

The elusive "golden age" is not just a nostalgic yearning for the past but a challenge for the future. Amid the tides of globalization, Western nations need to accept that multipolarity is the future of the world order.⍐ 

 

Security keeps watch outside a restaurant as California Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains, the first Sikh-American politician to be elected in the California State Legislature, speaks to a luncheon gathering in Artesia, California, U.S., June 8, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

Sikh activists in US, Canada face threats a year after Trudeau linked leader's killing to India

By Sarah N. Lynch, Wa Lone and Jorge Garcia August 12, 2024

WASHINGTON/TORONTO, Aug 12 (Reuters) - As a physician specializing in addiction, Dr. Jasmeet Bains, the first Sikh American elected to the California assembly, was used to risky situations.

Even so, Bains said she was shocked when four men came to her office in August last year, shortly after California adopted her resolution declaring the killing of thousands of Sikhs in India in 1984 a genocide. The men, who appeared to be of Indian origin, warned they would "do whatever it takes to go after you," Bains said.

The threat was just the beginning.

Since last summer, Bains said, she has received more than 100 threatening text messages. She spotted someone taking photos of her Bakersfield home from a parked truck, and the lock on her mailbox was broken repeatedly.

Bains reported the incident at her office to the local police, and the surveillance of her home to the state assembly Sergeant-at-Arms. Reuters did not review the text messages.

In late September, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his administration had credible evidence that the Indian government was involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia, Bains said the Sergeant-at-Arms conducted a security assessment at her home and urged her to take precautions. The FBI contacted her about the threats in her office in October, Bains said.

Bains said she began screening phone calls and avoiding traveling alone. She occasionally requests a security detail while attending official events.

"My life has changed," she told Reuters. "I don't go anywhere alone anymore. I make sure my staff is with me at all times, which is hard for someone as independent as me."

Reuters spoke to 19 Sikh community leaders, including three elected U.S. officials, who said that they or their organizations have been targeted with threats and harassment in the United States and Canada over the last year – even as law enforcement agencies pursue criminal investigations into the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada and the foiled assassination attempt of another separatist leader in the U.S.

The Sikhs Reuters spoke to described experiencing online harassment; surveillance at their homes and places of worship; the release of personal details online or doxxing, and "swatting," filing a false police report to trigger a law enforcement response.

Seven Sikh activists told Reuters that the FBI or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police warned them last year their lives could be in danger, without specifying the source of the threat.

An FBI official said the bureau issues such warnings when it receives credible evidence of a threat, but declined to comment further. Canadian federal police declined to confirm how many individuals were issued duties to warn.

The FBI also warned the Sikh community more broadly about "transnational repression," efforts by a foreign state to intimidate or threaten political opponents in another country, releasing a public service announcement, opens new tab in Punjabi urging people to report threats or harassment. It also held two invitation-only meetings for Sikh advocacy groups, FBI officials and participants said.

U.S. AND CANADA INVESTIGATE

Meanwhile, four Indian nationals are facing charges of murder and conspiracy in Canada for the June 2023 fatal shooting of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside his gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship, in Surrey, British Columbia.

Attorneys for the four men did not respond to requests for comment.

Separately, the U.S. Justice Department has charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with trying to arrange the murder of separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun at the behest of an Indian intelligence official. Gupta pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in New York. His attorney declined comment.

India has denied involvement in Nijjar's killing and the attempted assassination of Pannun. It has pledged to investigate the plot against Pannun, but not Nijjar.

"Nijjar was someone who was a designated terrorist," Sanjay Kumar Verma, India's High Commissioner to Canada, told Reuters in an interview in June. "For him I have no love lost."

Many of the threats described to Reuters by the Sikh activists originated from anonymous accounts on X. Others came from unknown phone numbers and anonymous text messages, they said.

Reuters was unable to determine the origins of the threats.

At least six activists said they suspect that India's government or its supporters could be behind the harassment, though they acknowledged it can be hard to prove - especially when the threats come from anonymous parties.

Kanwarpal Singh, political secretary of the Punjab-based Dal Khalsa group, which lobbies for a separate state, has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of trying to defame and isolate Sikh separatists. He did not specify whether he was referring to separatists in India or abroad.

The Indian embassy in Washington and Modi's office did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Verma did not respond to an email on questions about threats against Sikh separatists and other activists or the criminal cases in Canada and the United States.

In a call with Reuters, two FBI officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity did not comment directly on India's possible role in transnational repression. One said they "look across a really broad range of aggressive countries."

The FBI officials said it can be difficult to determine whether threats are emanating from a foreign government or criminal elements using similar tactics to try to extort victims.

Like Nijjar, Pannun is a proponent of a fringe demand to secede from India and carve out an independent state called Khalistan. The movement led to a violent insurgency in India's Punjab state in the 1980s and 1990s before it was crushed by Delhi.

TIME TO 'PLAN YOUR MURDER'

Pannun said he continues to receive violent threats online, even after the Justice Department made public the assassination plot last November.

"Wherever you run, I will come there, enter it and kill you," according to a May 7 email in Hindi reviewed by Reuters.

In April, the X account @randomatheist_ wrote to Pannun: "Polonium-210 arrived in DC," in an apparent reference to the toxic radioactive isotope used to kill former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

Pannun's organization Sikhs for Justice has a Washington, D.C. office.

X did not respond to requests for comment.

Pannun referred further questions about the threats to U.S. law enforcement.

In 2019, India declared Sikhs for Justice an unlawful association, citing its involvement in extremist activities. Pannun and 15 other members of the organization were charged with terrorism-related crimes a year later, including trying to encourage a mutiny in the Indian army.

Pannun denies the allegations.

Pritpal Singh, a founder of American Sikh Caucus Committee, an advocacy group which supports secession, also told Reuters the threats and surveillance continued after he received an FBI warning last June.

A few days after the warning, he said, a strange car pulled up and surveilled his California home. He said he noticed a second instance of surveillance in November.

The episodes were captured on home security cameras, and the video was reviewed by Reuters. Pritpal said he reported the surveillance to the FBI.

On the June 18 anniversary of Nijjar's killing, one account on X wrote in Hindi that it was time to "plan your murder." Another X account wrote: "RIP Pritpal." Reuters saw screen shots of both messages, which his family reported to the FBI.

'A KIND OF WORST-CASE SCENARIO'

Nate Schenkkan, senior director of research at the Washington, D.C. non-profit Freedom House, which monitors global civil liberties, said the campaign represents "a kind of worst-case scenario for transnational repression — when a major state acts completely outside the law using all the tools at its disposal to silence dissent in another country."

He said India appeared to have disregarded the potential diplomatic, legal and political consequences of the campaign, pointing to the prosecutions underway in the U.S. and Canada.

Harjap Singh Japhi, a grocery store owner in Greenwood, Indiana who was charged by India with terrorism-related crimes for his prior involvement with Sikhs for Justice, told Reuters that in the fall of 2022 FBI agents came to his home asking about his possible involvement in a bombing in the late 1980s.

The agents told him India had sent the bureau some records related to the attack.

Japhi, 44, said he was a child at the time.

Japhi's wife Rajvinder Shokar also told Reuters about the visit by the FBI.

FBI officials told the news agency that they could not comment on Japhi's case, and Reuters could not independently confirm the account of the bombing or the visit to the couple's home.

False referrals are a common feature of transnational repression, the FBI said, and the agency is working with local law enforcement agencies on how to scrutinize referrals -particularly if the target is a political opponent.

A day after Nijjar's killing, Japhi said he received an anonymous phone call from someone purporting to be a member of an Indian organized crime group warning him he was next.

In December, a since-deleted X account doxxed Japhi by posting his residential and business addresses and local health department inspection records online, according to screen shots shared with Reuters.

Japhi said he reported the threatening phone call and the doxxing to the FBI.

Bains told Reuters she isn't sure whether she experienced transnational repression by the Indian government.

In May, the California Assembly passed a bill she introduced that would train state law enforcement to identify and respond to transnational repression.

"If I'm experiencing it, more people are experiencing it," she said. "And that impacts everyone, not just the Sikh community."⍐

Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington, Wa Lone in Toronto and Jorge Garcia in Artesia; Additional reporting by Promit Mukherjee in Ottawa and Simon Lewis in Washington. Editing by Don Durfee and Suzanne Goldenberg

தினப்பொறி 06082024

 

Mandapam Camp- A Ceylonese 'Colony' in South India

 

Lankan-origin Yusuf appointed chair of far-right anti-Muslim party

Lankan-origin Yusuf appointed chair of far-right anti-Muslim party

Zia Yusuf poses for a photo at a Velocity Black party in July 2017. Photograph: Miloš Bičanski/Getty Images

Zia Yusuf, whose parents emigrated from Sri Lanka to Britain, has become the chairman of the ultra-right-wing Reform UK Party, which is in the midst of the anti-immigration, anti-Muslim flare-up in the United Kingdom now running into its third week.

Mr. Yusuf, a self-made millionaire, part-funded the Reform UK Party led by the controversial British politician Nigel Farage, who argues against immigration. The newly appointed Chairman Yusuf himself has been quoted as saying that he wants immigration into Britain controlled.

Zia Yusuf with Nigel Farage at a Reform election rally
in Birmingham in June. Reuters

A product of the London School of Economics (LSE), Mr. Yusuf was educated in the UK on a 50 percent government scholarship and later went on to work for Merril Lynch and Goldman Sachs. Thereafter, he started a luxury concierge service, Velocity Black, with a school friend. The service allowed the rich to make restaurant bookings and pay by phone. It also went into offering luxury vacations and designer outfits for the super-rich. Then, the two partners sold the company for US$300 million.

The 37-year-old Mr. Yusuf defended Mr. Farage, who made some controversial statements recently on the Southport stabbing that triggered anti-Muslim rioting, including attacks on mosques. He is reported as telling the Guardian newspapers that Mr. Farage asked some “perfectly valid questions”. He says he wants to make Mr. Farage the Prime Minister of Britain. At the last elections, the Reform UK Party came third in the number of countrywide votes, but fourth in the number of seats won.

The election of the new chair is not without controversy within the Reform UK Party itself. One supporter posted on social media, “I voted for Reform UK to get Britain back to the British, not for it to be led by a Muslim. I will be resigning tomorrow.” Another said, “I don’t buy this ‘good Muslim’ line.” Mr. Yusuf is undeterred and says he believes in British values.

Anti-immigrant riots in Britain: Sri Lankan cricketers stuck in hotel 

The Sri Lanka men’s cricket team, part of whom are currently in Britain to play a Test series, would have never thought they would be stuck in their hotel rooms in one of the major cities of a Western country that—not so long ago—issued travel advisories on Sri Lanka due to domestic developments.

In view of recent anti-immigrant riots in the country, the Sri Lankan team raised security concerns with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which reassured them that adequate security arrangements are in place.

“Most of the issues seem not to be close to where we are, but everyone is still a little concerned,” one player in England told ESPN Cricinfo. “We can’t really go out to dinner or do anything like that. Mostly, we stay in the hotel. No one wants to run into trouble and get beaten up”.

Other members of the team are scheduled to arrive in England today for a three-match Test series.

Several Islamic countries, such as Malaysia, Nigeria, and the UAE, have issued travel advisories against visiting the UK these days.

Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission in London on Tuesday issued a travel advisory, urging Indian citizens to be vigilant when travelling to the UK due to recent protests and incidents of violence in the area.

Back home, Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry, addressing a news conference, advised Sri Lankans to avoid non-essential travel to Lebanon over the next few days⍐.

5th Column ST - Namal baby 'Coming fourth'!

 

My dear Namal baby,

I thought I must write to you to congratulate you since you have now been chosen as the candidate of the ‘pohottuwa’ party for the big election. Those in your party now say you are the best man for the job, but we all know that in reality, you were the third option and never expected to play this role.

Let’s be honest, Namal, the original plan was to have Uncle Ranil run the race with the support of the ‘pohottuwa’ party. His chances aren’t the best but, with the support of your camp and defectors from several other parties including some ‘telephone’ chaps, it was thought he was still in with a chance.

That was what your ‘appachchi’ and your Basil baappa originally wanted and it all seemed working according to plan. Then some of your ‘pohottuwa’ chaps began hailing Uncle Ranil as their own and claiming that he and he alone could save all of us, even before your party could formally endorse him.

That got you worried. Even your Basil baappa began to have reservations. If Uncle Ranil can manage to charm your diehard ‘pohottuwa’ chaps while being appointed by your party and having only a single MP of his own, what could he possibly do if he was himself elected to office, you wondered.

You were concerned that having Uncle Ranil lead a group of ‘pohottuwa’ MPs was like having a fox in charge of the chicken coop. You feared that, at the end of five years, there would be no ‘pohottuwa’ left. After all, you have seen what he did to the Blue party: its two ‘leaders’ are both in his Cabinet!

That is when you began asking for your pound of flesh. If the ‘pohottuwa’ was to support Uncle Ranil your party needed to be rewarded, for instance, with the Prime Minister’s job. Uncle Ranil, of course, was too smart to make such promises. That only heightened your suspicions about his intentions.

So, you quietly arranged for Dhammika to be the ‘Dummy eka’. He would run on behalf of the ‘pohottuwa’ and probably be an ‘also ran’ but it would have saved you the trouble – and a lot of money too. It won’t be a blot on your political CV and you can still return as a main contender in five years.

That was the plan, wasn’t it, Namal baby? It took Uncle Ranil’s camp by surprise. At first, he must have wondered what happened and would have asked, ‘Et tu, Basil?’. However, he knows, as much as your ‘appachchi’ does, that in politics there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.

Where you – and even Basil baappa – miscalculated was in thinking that the many minions who served your ‘appachchi’ would be forever loyal to you. Possibly sensing what was in store at the election, one by one, they made a beeline to Uncle Ranil’s camp, much like rats deserting a sinking ship.

You knew people like Prasanna and even your friend Kanchana were inching their way towards Uncle Ranil. Still, the betrayal from those such as Chandrasena in Anuradhapura, Rohitha in Kalutara and Pavithra in Ratnapura must have hurt. Only the real riff-raff like Johnny and Tissa Kutti are with you now.

Still, the greatest shock came at the last minute.  Dhammika, who was meant to be your ‘Dummy eka’ sold a dummy to you and decamped. Days ago, you told us that your job as National Organiser for the ‘pohottuwa’ was to tailor the suit for someone else. Suddenly you had to wear someone else’s suit!

Being primarily a businessman rather than a politician and not being as dumb as you expected him to be, Dhammika suddenly realised that, with most of the ‘pohottuwa’ joining Uncle Ranil, he was only fighting a lost cause and wasting his money. Therefore, he called it quits, citing ‘personal reasons’.

Maybe being a former boss of the free trade zone and having political ambitions do not go well together – remember Upali, he too suddenly vanished without a trace! So, Namal baby, you have become the ‘Chosen One’. Now that you have come forth, beware: you might actually come fourth!

Not so long ago, people accused Uncle Ranil of trying to carry you in his journey along the famous ‘wel paalama’ or suspension bridge. You tried to outsmart him by depriving him of the ‘pohottuwa’ nomination. That has boomeranged on you now and you are stranded on that bridge by yourself.

The next big election will have four main candidates. One of them is the nephew of a President. Two are sons of Presidents. The other main candidate is the son of an average citizen. The outcome of this election will tell us not only about who the best man for the job is – but also a lot about us as a nation.

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: The ‘pohottuwa’ is now truly a party of the Rajapaksas for the Rajapaksas and by the Rajapaksas. For decades the Blue party was a party of the Bandaranaikes, for the Bandaranaikes and by the Bandaranaikes. Look where it is now. There is lesson in that, Namal Baby – and Anura never led the Blue party either!