KJ Decides not to attend the Hyde Park Rally – does he fear the rain, the lightening or the thunder from the scene or after the event?

I had a sms a few minutes before the start of the Hyde Park Rally organized by the non-existent and misnamed United Bhikku Front (why a religious party would organize such a rally is really beyond my comprehension) that Karu Jayasuriya MP would NOT attend the rally. He was billed as the most prominent UNP politician who will attend, especially as Sajith Premadasa had already concluded his political life would be over if he did attend and chose the route of least resistance by not attending. One must remember that for a leader the route of least resistance is not showing good leadership, just cowardice and therefore I personally do not believe whatever the poor man does hence he can ever get the support of a reasonable majority of anyone for his cause.

Let us look into the rally which was regretfully marred by the weather, which gives a great excuse for the organizers to pretend that the numbers would have been 10X greater had it not rained!

We should therefore look at the fall out. It was clear that this is an attempt to divide the opposition. It was at a similar rally held by the UNP on behalf of the General that even his wife did not turn up giving a hardly credible excuse and therefore showed the true colors of the Fonseka team in callous disregard to the campaign to free him. Now they have the cheek to complain that the UNP, the main opposition in Sri Lanka has decided not to support a campaign by a Bhiikku Front that is clearly opposed to the policies of the UNP and was in the posters that had been printed and pasted, made assertions that were patently untrue, further infuriating the UNP into believing that they wished to use the good will of the UNP to fill in their ranks and then take the credit for themselves alone.

It is acts such as this that led the UNP to completely disown the campaign and prevent their elected officials from attending, and merely requested that other supporters desist from doing so. It impossible to keep party discipline by condoning acts of defiance and this time the Oppostion Leader took the correct stand by saying he would read the riot act as far as their standing in the party was concerned. Anyone as we know is free to do anything. However if they belong to a society or party or club that has rules and if those rules are broken they can be subjected to disciplinary action of that organization, no matter what the Asgiriya Malwatte prelates may say.