Friday 24th May, 2024

India is exploring ways and means of acquiring Sri Lanka’s graphite mines, the Indian media has reported, adding that New Delhi and Colombo have had talks in this regard, but they are still at a preliminary stage. These reports have come close on the heels of SLPP leader and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s media statement calling for a halt to the government’s divestiture drive on the grounds that the current administration is only an interim arrangement. Nobody in the SLPP seems to care two hoots about its leader’s dictates.

Rajapaksa said in his statement that the presidential election was only a few months away and all moves to sell off state-owned assets or enterprises should be postponed until the formation of a new government after the presidential poll. The new administration would then be able to deal with state-owned properties and enterprises in accordance with the mandate it obtained at the election, he said. In other words, the SLPP leader has admitted that the current regime is without a popular mandate to divest the state of its assets and enterprises. But neither President Ranil Wickremesinghe nor the SLPP has heeded Mahinda’s call.

The JVP/NPP has said it will enable Sri Lanka to produce graphene from graphite, inter alia, as a solution to its foreign exchange woes in case it is voted into power. It will be interesting to see the JVP-NPP combine’s reaction to the reports that India is to acquire the graphite mines here. How can Sri Lanka produce graphene if it loses control over its graphite mines? The JVP/NPP owes an explanation.

Has the JVP/NPP leaders’ tour of India had a mellowing effect on their policies? After their return from New Delhi they even claimed that none of the classes that the JVP held in the late 1980s to indoctrinate its new recruits had been on Indian expansionism! The JVP murdered traders for selling onions imported from India during its second uprising. Will it oppose India’s efforts to acquire the graphite mines here or turn a blind eye to them? The SJB should also reveal its position on the move to hand over the country’s graphite mines to India.

Since the incumbent government is going ahead with its divestiture programme apace in defiance of his directives, shouldn’t Mahinda cause Parliament to be dissolved forthwith by having his SLPP MPs to sign a resolution to that effect and send it to the President? After all, his younger sibling, Basil Rajapaksa, is all out to have a snap general election held before the next presidential election.

Mahinda cannot dupe the public into supporting the SLPP again by writing open letters, urging the government led by his own party to refrain from selling state-owned enterprises and national assets. He should either fish or cut bait.

Atapirikara rackets

Raids on shops selling Atapirikara (eight requisites offered to Buddhist monks), during the past few days, have revealed a mega racket. Some of the packs of Atapirika contained only pieces of saffron robes, rusty alms bowls and straight razors. Legal action has been instituted against the errant traders. There have been raids on shops selling Atapirikara during the past couple of decades and steps were once taken to ensure the quality of the eight-fold offerings, but the unscrupulous traders have reverted to old ways.

The best way to tackle the Atapirikara rackets, in our view, is to ban the sale of pre-packaged offerings. If it is made mandatory for traders to place the Atapirikara items on display separately and pack them in the presence of the buyers, their quality can be verified.

Sadly, crafty traders alone cannot be blamed for this sorry state of affairs. It is public knowledge that many sets of Atapirikara find their way back to the shops that sell them via temples where they are offered, and nobody cares to unwrap them. This practice must also be discontinued.