The dual role of Rajapakshe

For the past few days, opposition Parliamentarian Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has been in a difficult position. Other than being a stalwart of the United National Party (UNP), he is also the president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL). It was in the latter capacity that he was thrust into the limelight this week.

Ever since the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake began there was pressure on the BASL to take decisive and drastic action. When that did not happen initially, Rajapakshe came in for some flak from  a few sections of the Association. There were even whispers of a conspiracy theory: that Rajapakshe was carrying out an agenda that was politically dictated by the UNP.

Such controversy is not new to Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe. In his short political career he has been a name in the headlines mostly because he has dared to be different. It may have cost him high political office but it has also earned him a reputation as a politician with principles-a rare breed. Ironically, the fifty-three-year-old Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe hails from the same district as his namesake and political adversary, President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Walasmulla in the Hambantota district is his hometown where he had his schooling before entering the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Although he was trained as a lawyer, Rajapakshe first tried his hand at banking before donning the black coat. He quickly made his mark and commanded a lucrative practice-a noteworthy achievement since he was an ‘outsider’ in Hulftsdorp where Colombo’s legal elite usually held sway.
Rajapakshe was also an avid educator.

He was an examiner at the Faculty of Law in the University of Colombo and a prolific author, compiling seventeen books, mostly on law related matters. In 1988 he was awarded the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) award in the field of law at the age of 29.
Rajapakshe may have always had political ambitions but he took to politics only in 2004, entering Parliament on the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) National List. President Chandrika Kumaratunga obviously valued the expertise of the young lawyer fast making a reputation for himself. Rajapakshe was probably the only parliamentarian in that Parliament to refuse a ministerial portfolio. He declined an appointment as Minister of Constitutional Affairs but remained in the ruling party.

He also survived a legal challenge to his appointment by media personality Sunanda Deshapriya.
With the ascension of Mahinda Rajapaksa to the presidency in 2005, Rajapakshe accepted the portfolio of State Banking Development in November 2005. That appointment though was short-lived, as he resigned over differences in policy in April 2006.

Rajapakshe was then appointed Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE), the parliamentary body tasked with ensuring financial discipline in public corporations and other semi-governmental bodies in which the state has a financial stake.

It was this role that catapulted Rajapakshe to the limelight. In January and August 2007, COPE under his chairmanship published two reports highlighting various issues of financial mismanagement in the state sector. This embarrassed the government greatly as Rajapakshe was still in the ruling party.

As Opposition demands for action on the COPE report grew, Rajapakshe’s position in government ranks became increasingly unstable. After the budget was presented in 2007, Rajapakshe put forward seven conditions if he was to vote for it.

When the government did not acknowledge his demands, he crossed over to the opposition benches and voted against the budget. Initially Rajapakshe maintained that he would remain with the SLFP and continue as the party’s organiser for Maharagama but it was the beginning of the parting of ways.
A few weeks later, a state run newspaper published an article under the heading “Wijeyadasa left in lurch in his dreams of becoming Chief Justice”. Rajapakshe sued the newspaper and was awarded Rs.500 million in damages by the Colombo District Court in March 2011.

Rajapakshe was invited to join the United National Party (UNP) which he accepted. He was promptly appointed as its organiser for the Maharagama electorate. With many UNPers joining the ruling party, Rajapakshe, along with Mangala Samaraweera were among the few that bucked the trend.
Rajapakshe was fifth in the list of UNP MPs returned from the highly competitive Colombo district at the 2010 general elections, polling over 60,000 preferences. He is seen as a Ranil Wickremesinghe loyalist in the bitter factional dispute that is festering in the UNP.  Rajapakshe continued to practice law despite entering politics and has been a President’s Counsel since 2001. In February this year, he contested the presidency of the Sri Lanka Bar Association (BASL) and won, polling nearly double the number of votes polled by his opponent Tirantha Walaliyadda.  This week, the BASL held a special general meeting-a rare event-to discuss matters related to the impeachment of the Chief Justice. Three resolutions opposing the impeachment were passed but the meeting ended in a melee and a faction accused Rajapakshe of acting arbitrarily.

Soon after the meeting, the Vice-President of the BASL, Anoma Goonetilleke resigned accusing Rajapakshe of not allowing dissenting views to be heard. Rajapakshe responded saying Goonetilleke’s husband was an officer probing allegations against the Chief Justice. Rajapakshe is now confronted with an unenviable role as he wears two hats: as BASL President and as an opposition parliamentarian. There is also a faction in the BASL which is calling for even more stringent action against the impeachment of the Chief Justice, saying mere resolutions are ineffective. In fact, a resolution to the effect that BASL members will not appear before a new Chief Justice was prepared but was not put to a vote. While some members of the Association are agitating for such a drastic measure, Rajapakshe has not resorted to such tactics-yet.

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe will continue to remain in the news in the coming weeks as the BASL confronts its most challenging days since the brutal murder of a lawyer twenty four years ago. Ironically, that lawyer too is a namesake of Rajapakshe: Wijeyadasa Liyanarachchi.