Red Faced Chathura Hits Back
by Ashanthi Warunasuriya
Chathura Senaratne becomes the laughing stock of social media
- Senaratne had claimed that he had done politics with Vijaya Kumaranatunga
- The MP will continue to focus on his goals which has nothing to do with politics
Young Parliamentarian Chathura Senaratne has been on the wrong side of social media these days. He has more or less become the laughing stock of social media over a statement he had made on the late Vijaya Kumaranatunga.
Senaratne had claimed during an interview with a private television station that he had done politics with Kumaranatunga. The problem is when Kumaranatunga was killed Senaratne was just a child.
Video clips of Senaratne ‘s statement circulated on social media making a mockery of the young MP.
However speaking to The Sunday Leader, Senaratne was not shaken by the social media campaign and he stood by his comments to the media.
“Time will decide if I will face any consequences as a result of the statement I made or if those attempting to have a laugh will face the consequences,” he said.
When asked if he had seen the comments and posts that were circulating on social media about him, MP Senaratne said “I am not interested in them. I do not have time to waste. I have to direct the most powerful civil society movement in the country, look after the problems of the people in the Gampaha district, work as a leader of the working class, take part in drafting policies and fight against corruption. I rarely go through social media.”
The MP said that he will continue to focus on his goals which he says has nothing to do with politics.
“Even today I am not doing politics. I am directing a civil society movement for a change in the existing system. That is an ideological struggle that goes beyond ordinary politics. I contested the previous election as a civil society activist. So my fight will always be with society. My struggle is to take away the undue powers that have been attached to politicians and transform the politician into a public servant. Even though I come from a political family I am a civil society activist. I was able to win the election in the Gampaha district without having any backing or influence from my father’s politics. I did not even use a photograph of my father or the party leader in my election campaign,” he said.
When asked about the success of his ideological struggle with the change of government in 2015, Chathura Senaratne said that the government has been able to make progress on several fronts.
“For the first time in the history a presidential commission has been appointed to investigate an alleged accusation of a massive scale such as the treasury bond issue. What government has taken such an administrative decision against its own kin? The President has reduced the executive powers of his office and has become a person who is accountable to the parliament and the judiciary.
The concept of independent commissions are now in operation. The Right to Information has been given. With all these the norms of equality and reconciliation have become a reality.
The only shortcoming is that the promise to take action on those responsible for corruption has not been met to the fullest, “ he said.
Senaratne says his personality is well documented in two books written by him. He also says he has been able to build his character by winning the support of the public.
“ These days I have been able to receive a lot of publicity that I could not even imagine of getting by spending money for a lifetime. So I am thankful to all these critics. The Presidential Media Unit has calculated that even the President did not have enough cash to carry out a campaign to gain such popularity.”
Asked if the statement which caught social media attention was intentional, Senaratne said “We just have to induce these people a bit. Then even those who do not know anything about politics are even joining in for the bashing. Even they do not know when it ends.”
“The real voters are not living on Facebook. When I attended a radio show there had been over hundreds of questions. However, even then only one question was related to this issue. That is the real truth. Those who are doing politics in real life are interested in the history of the country, but these key heroes think that they have eaten the books of Karl Marx and others. These people were hiding during the Rajapaksa regime. The JVP is now giving us publicity in return for the money we gave them. In a way that is a show of gratitude. Everyone is serving his or her master. So we must not be concerned of these things. We have studied real life politics well. We have a relationship with the public.
Senaratne said that during his childhood he studied leftist political theories and with that he was able to show respect towards local and international political leaders such as Lenin who struggled for social equality, Che Guevara who sacrificed his life for the betterment of people in an unknown country and Vijaya Kumaranatunga, who gave up a life of luxury as a celebrity and represented the rights of innocent people in the face of death.