By Kassapa 

Is the latest episode of the Ashu Marasinghe saga worth discussing or should we refrain from doing so because what is alleged to have occurred stems from a private dispute?

We would suggest that the Marasinghe shenanigans deserve all the airtime it gets, not because Marasinghe is a very important person or because it is the private dispute of a public official, but because it is a sad reflection of the lack of judgment shown by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, yet again.

For those who aren’t well versed on current events, Marasinghe, a former National List MP and until a few days ago, Advisor on Parliamentary Affairs to President Wickremesinghe, was publicly accused by his former girlfriend of allegedly engaging in sexual activity with a pet dog. The accusation went viral both on mainstream and social media.

Interestingly, just a few hours before the accusations were made public, it was announced that Marasinghe had submitted his resignation from the post of advisor to Wickremesinghe citing “personal reasons”. It was obvious that he was tipped off about the explosive revelations that were to come later in the day and he took the path of least resistance in an attempt to save Wickremesinghe from further embarrassment.

Let us also not fool ourselves that this expose by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) stalwart and former parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra was a purely altruistic act motivated by concern for the welfare of the pet dog involved. No, it was a publicity stunt for the purpose of naming and shaming Marasinghe, and, by extension, Wickremesinghe.

We will also not dwell on the moral and ethical aspects of Marasinghe’s alleged actions. The world as we know it today is a weird and varied placed and many individuals have preferences that others find repugnant. The aim of this discussion is not to sit in judgment on such behaviours. However, the political implications of what happened last week merit some scrutiny.

Few people realize that Marasinghe first came to public attention when he was appointed Chairman of the State Engineering Corporation (SEC) by its then minister in charge, Wimal Weerawansa. Later, Weerawansa sacked Marasinghe. but by then the latter had developed a taste for politics and had cultivated sufficient connections to re-emerge from the United National Party (UNP).

He commanded sufficient gravitas in the UNP and the confidence of party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to be appointed to one of the thirteen National List slots allocated to the party following the 2015 general election. During Marasinghe’s stint as a parliamentarian, Weerawansa was charged with misusing SEC vehicles. Faced with these accusations, Weerawansa retorted that Marasinghe who was SEC chairman at the time of the alleged misuse should have been charged first!

More recently, Marasinghe opened his mouth and put both feet firmly in when, during a television talk show, he accused the much-respected Central Bank Governor Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe of manipulating economic policies so he could be the ‘common candidate’ at the next presidential election.

Many interpreted these comments as being inspired by President Wickremesinghe himself. Apparently, Wickremesinghe was livid at these remarks and gave a piece of his mind to Marasinghe. As a result, Marasinghe went public with a televised, grovelling apology to the Governor. More importantly, at that time Wickremesinghe didn’t think that Marasinghe’s faux pas was sufficiently serious enough to warrant dismissal from his post as parliamentary advisor. Had he done so at that time, Wickremesinghe would have been spared the agony he has to endure now.

Whether Wickremesinghe was aware or not, coming events had already cast their shadows. Reports had emerged on social media of how Marasinghe was allegedly using his position as a presidential advisor to make recommendations to local officials on the allocation of land to an organization headed by him.

Another such revelation was that he had ordered furniture, including a bed, to the President’s offices in Parliament, paid for under his initiative. This resulted in ribald speculation as to why Wickremesinghe requires a bed to be located in Parliament when he spends only a few hours there!

Thus, the Marasinghe saga exposes a fundamental flaw in Wickremesinghe’s long political career: he is often befriended by personalities who he appears to trust wholeheartedly, only to be betrayed and seriously politically damaged by their actions. Ashu Marasinghe is only the latest in this long list which is headed, of course, by the incomparable Arjuna Mahendran.

Another factor comes to the fore when reviewing what happened next in the Marasinghe saga. What Marasinghe is alleged to have done is an offence in the eyes of the law and certainly requires further investigation by law enforcement authorities while he is still entitled to the presumption of innocence.

Nothing of that sort has happened. Instead, we are shown footage of Marasinghe rushing to the Criminal Investigations Department alleging that the photos and footage that was made public was doctored. Suddenly, Marasinghe has gone from being the accused to the accuser!

While Marasinghe has every right to make such claims, it should then follow that the police should take further action on his complaint if indeed his grievance is established. That too has not happened, suggesting that Marasinghe’s complaint is both a face-saving exercise as well as a ruse to not act on the original accusation made against him.

This is where Wickremesinghe’s slip is showing. Firstly, he is guilty of poor judgment in recruiting Marasinghe as his advisor on Parliamentary Affairs and then retaining him even when several stories of dubious conduct surfaced from time to time. Secondly, Wickremesinghe is now being asked why law enforcement authorities are silent on the accusations made against Marasinghe when much more trivial complaints have been acted upon with alacrity when they involve lesser mortals or political rivals.

How the Marasinghe saga is unfolding is as revealing of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and how he operates as it is of the conduct of Ashu Marasinghe. If anything, it is also confirmation that while the presidency has passed on from Gotabaya Rajapaksa to Ranil Wickremesinghe, in terms of accountability and advisors misleading gullible politicians, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

– counterpoint.lk