PERSONAL GLIMPSES AND VIGNETTES OF SOME PROMINENT POLITICIANS

(Excerpted from Memories of 33 year in Parliament by Nihal Seneviratne)

Holding a senior official position in Parliament gave me the chance to interact closely with some Members of Parliament and to get to know a little about the personal side of these very public figures. Because of this I also got to know that behind the fiery speeches and at times, boisterous behaviour, there is a calmer, kinder side to some of them. These are a few vignettes of some I got to know on a personal level, interesting interactions I have had with them and a few anecdotes concerning them.

GAMINI DISSANAYAKE

Gamini’s service in Parliament was over 20 years and 5 months, from May 1972 to June 1994. Starting from the Seventh Parliament first and second National State Assembly’s, First and Second Parliaments, while holding positions of Minister of Irrigation & Power, Lands and Land Development, Agriculture Development & Research Plantation Industries & Mahaweli Development

I had the privilege of accompanying him on two occasions to New Delhi and South Korea. He had a good sense of humour and was witty and good natured. On one occasion when we both went to the Bank to collect our Traveler’s Cheques before an overseas visit, he told me,” Nihal, don’t feel bad. All the girls at the Bank will be looking at me.” I replied with a smile, “It’s perfectly ok.” That was him.

When we visited Delhi having been received very warmly by our parliamentary hosts, he insisted on visiting the Delhi Gliding Club. At the Club he got inside a glider and asked me to accompany him on the flight. All this was completely new to me never having gone in a glider before but I felt too shy to say no. For an hour we were air borne over the city of New Delhi at an altitude of about 2,000 feet and thankfully landed safely. He had never flown a glider before, but such was his adventurous spirit.

On our return I received a letter form the Delhi Gliding Club enrolling me as one of its honorary members. The letter dated January 25,1979 said, “We have the pleasure to enroll you as an honorary life member of the Delhi Gliding Club. We hope that you will pay us many visits and will enjoy this exciting sport.” A letter was sent to Gamini also. Of course, I did not get the chance to take a glider ride again, but it was one of those unforgettable experiences I had while on an official tour abroad.

On another occasion I was on a Parliamentary delegation to South Korea led by Gamini Dissanayake and he had several meetings with senior parliamentary officials there. They were so impressed with him, that soon after, in 1977, South Korea decided to establish diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka which we did not enjoy earlier. On our visit he was asked to address a distinguished gathering on the subject, “Emerging Asia” I thought he may have asked me to compile a few notes, but he did not. The very next morning he delivered a brilliant lecture without having a single note in his hand. That was his eloquence.

Gamini’s performance implementing the Mahaweli Scheme was easily the highlight of his ministerial career. On his invitation, he even persuaded British Prime Minister Mrs. Margaret Thatcher to visit Sri Lanka and visit the Dam, which he called the Victoria Dam, in recognition of British grants. She responded easily and handed to him a handsome donation of 100,000 pounds sterling.

I remember him visiting me at my home accompanied by his gracious wife Srima, when I was appointed Secretary General, in addition, giving me a congratulatory letter and a very elegant gift. That was him at his best.

On another occasion, as I was about to take a flight to Hong Kong from Australia, his younger sister Janaki too was taking the same flight and he told me to keep an eye on her as it was the first time she was flying alone. That meeting with Janaki has led to a long friendship and I am proud to say that up to date I am very close to her and her husband Rohan Pethiyagoda and two sons.

DR. COLVIN R.DE SILVA

Born February 16, 1907, he served in Parliament for over 25 years beginning with the first Parliament of 1947 serving in the first, third fifth, sixth and seventh Parliament and in the First National State Assembly. During his tenure, he served as Minister of Plantation Industries & Minister of Constitutional Affairs being largely responsible for the draft of the 1972 Constitution. It was on his initiative that we started the process of framing a Constitution with the blessings of the Prime Minister Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

He was very keen to move away from the Soulbury Constitution which he maintained was British made. He was responsible for converting the House of Representatives to a Constituent Assembly. As we were part of the process, Parliament would meet in the mornings and in the afternoons as the Assembly at the Royal Primary School, Colombo.

I most remember him for his eloquence and mastery of Parliamentary procedure and his quick wit and repartee. On the day when the Government headed by Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was defeated by a single vote, I was with him as he left the Chamber and walked into the Members’ Lobby. Here he ran into MP Amarananda Ratnayake of Passara whose absence at the time of voting deprived the Government of the crucial one vote and led to its defeat.

He asked the MP in his stentorian voice “Why did you not come to vote. He replied, “Sir I was travelling from Badulla and on my way I had a flat tyre.”(Mage car tyre eke hulan giya) Dr.Colvin immediately responded. “Thamunanse ge car eke hulang giya, ape mulu anduwama hulan giya.” (The air went out of your tyre , but here the air went out of our entire government).

On another occasion when there was a strong voice of protest around a Minister facing a No Confidence Motion, I asked him when he was in the Lobby of Parliament , “Sir, why does this Minister not resign?”. He put his arm over my shoulder and quipped, “I say Seneviratne, I thought by now with all your years of experience in Parliament, you would have realized that ministers don’t resign their portfolios, but they will only resign themselves to their fate.” Such was his quick repartee.

Dr. Colvin R. De Silva will be remembered for his eloquence and his mastery of parliamentary procedure. It was indeed a delight to listen to his speeches. The likes of him are difficult to find any longer.

DR.S.A. WICKREMASINGHE

Born 10 July 1901, Dr. Wickremasinghe served for over 25 years starting with the First State Council and then in the Second, Third, Fourth , Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Parliament and First National State Assembly. As the leader and founder the of Ceylon Communist Party, he was highly respected and admired throughout the country. On one occasion when we were on a Parliamentary Delegation to Russia, it so happened that he had been invited as a special guest of the Russian Government who respected him very much, especially for founding the Communist Party of Sri Lanka. I was astounded to see the way he was being treated. He was escorted by a retinue of bodyguards and came in an entourage of vehicles, while members of Parliament had one or two cars for the entire delegation. That was the way he was held in high esteem by the Russian Government.

In our Parliament, Dr. Wickremasinghe addressed the House on many occasions and his field of specialty was the irrigation systems of Sri Lanka, of which he was an expert. He addressed the House on many occasions on his favourite subject. As he spoke for long, our Hansard reporters found it difficult to transcribe his speech and came and told me of this. So, I gently approached Dr.S.A and asked him if he would be kind enough to come to my room to meet the Hansard reporters.

I introduced myself to him saying that on a personal level I knew his daughter Suriya and his architect son Suren quite well. He seemed greatly pleased. There after the Hansard reporters went through the transcripts and asked Dr. S.A for clarification of certain words and sentences which he so obligingly gave. As a veteran politician and one so highly acclaimed by the Sri Lankan people, he was kind enough to sit with the reporters and go through his speeches. I thanked him sincerely for all the help that he so readily gave.

ANIL MOONASINGHE

Born 15 Feb 1927, Mr. Moonasinghe served in Parliament for over 20 years starting from the third, fourth, fifth, sixth in the House of Representatives and in the first and second Parliaments.

Anil happened to be a cousin of mine and very often we had lunch together in the refreshment room chatting about our personal connections and Parliamentary matters. For some time, he served as Deputy Speaker too and we had many discussions over current Parliamentary matters.

He had served earlier as Chairman of the Ceylon Transport Board and while he was serving in this post, he found the time to visit the Pettah bus stand in the blazing sun supervising the movement of buses personally till late in the afternoon and then taking his staff out to lunch. This I personally witnessed when I was lunching at a Chinese Restaurant, Anil walking in, in the late afternoon, with a host of his officials.

On one occasion he dropped in to my room as he often did for a chat. But that day he told me, “Nihal in a few days you will be at the center of a big controversy.” My immediate reply was, “Anil why me? I am only a Clerk of the House.” He refused to say more, and I was wondering what all this could be. Later that night I was surprised when around 10.30 in the night, I got a call from President Ranasinghe Premadasa inquiring whether I had seen an impeachment motion that the Speaker had sent to him.

I said an emphatic ‘No’. It was then that I realized Anil would have been aware of the impeachment motion that was doing the rounds in the House and had subtly warned me of the storm that was brewing within Parliament. The rest is history.

MANGALA MOONASINGHE

Mr. Moonasinghe served Parliament for over 17 years, as LSSP member and later as a SLFP MP, starting from the Sixth Parliament, Seventh Parliament, First National State Assembly and Second National State Assembly..

I had known Mangala very closely since our Royal College days when he excelled himself in athletics and was also a pole vaulter. Mangala made unbelievably valuable contributions to the debate in Parliament as an impartial member without getting involved in party politics. As a result, he was handpicked by Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa to Chair the Select Committee to settle the ethnic problem in the county which was escalating day by day.

In fact, Mangala came to my room and asked for my help to frame the Select Committee Motion to be set up and frame the terms of reference for the Committee. That Committee sat for many months and by the end of our deliberations, Mangala in his own gentle persuasive manner was able to reach a great deal of unanimity among the Sinhalese political parties and the Tamil political members.

This I believe was the only occasion when a Sinhalese MP was able to come to an understanding with all the political parties to bring about a settlement over the highly contentious ethnic issue. A special Select Committee report was printed by Parliament, but it is indeed sad to state there was no real follow up to the conclusions drawn by this Committee.

Political differences prevented the possibility of finding a solution to the ethnic problem. It must be said that it was only because of Mangala’s quiet diplomacy and persuasive approach that the Select Committee concluded successfully. During our Select Committee meetings Mangala made it a point to converse frankly with both Sinhalese and Tamil members, using his persuasive diplomacy and chatting with them individually. That was the secret of his success.

I had the privilege to accompany him with a parliamentary delegation visiting North Korea and Russia with Speaker Stanley Tillakaratne. The highlight of this trip was an audience with North Korea’s renowned leader, the elusive Kim IL Sung who hosted us to a lunch reception. We left North Korea for an official visit to the USSR as it was known then, on a long flight from Pyongyang to Moscow on Korean Airlines.

Mangala was married to Gnana who was a university colleague of mine in Peradeniya. Many were the occasion when we were invited to lunch and dinner at their gracious home in Battaramulla and later at the Havelock City Apartments. I also recall a visit by Mangala to an East European country which composed trade unions leaders. While he was there, he fell seriously ill, and I made all efforts to bring him back to Sri Lanka where he recovered fast. I was happy that I was able to help him at a time when he was warded in a hospital in an East European capital.

In later years Mangala was chosen to be our High Commission to the United Kingdom and later to New Delhi by different governments. This showed how respected he was by different governments. I had the pleasure of being hosted by him and his wife while in London and Delhi and we were given excellent treatment. Sadly, Mangala passed away very suddenly, and I attended the funeral with a great deal of sadness. I will remember him as a close friend, an excellent diplomat and politician. I continue to be close friends with his wife.