A person who cannot make it to an appointment on time regardless of other duties cannot govern a country, let alone a house, Ven. Vanavasi Rahula Thera said.

The Thera said this when Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa did not arrive on time for the ceremony organized by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) National Organizer Tissa Attanayaka,  on the occasion of the 1,500th program of meeting Buddhist leaders to develop religious harmony.

The event was held at the historic Vattaram Arahantha Maliyadeva Raja Maha Vihara in Galigamuwa Dewalegama, Kegalle.

“You said you will come to this event at 4.00 pm but it was 4.20 pm when you arrived. You were reminded of this lateness earlier by Ven. Thiniyawala Palitha Thera as well. If you hope to rule a country, you must always remember to work on time,” the Thera said.

The Thera also said that he was happy about the completion of 1,500 meetings with Buddhist leaders in MP Attanayaka’s ‘Sadaham Yatra program’.

“I think that MP Attanayaka has done something that no other politician in this country has done. He has visited 1,500 Buddhist temples and 300 other religious places. Also, I wonder if this is the first time that I saw the Opposition Leader in person. He always calls me on the phone but I think today was the first time I saw him in person. I invited him to visit Namal Uyana on several occasions, but he was always busy. I sometimes wonder if this is the nature of politicians. Whenever Tissa Attanayaka passes by the Namal Uyana, he visits us, chats with us, drinks a cup of plain tea and listens to a sermon.”

“Mr.Opposition Leader, it seems that there is chaos within the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. It seems that one person is trying to rise above the other by backstabbing and undercutting them,” the Thera said.

“The political situation in our country is now at zero. There are some good MPs who do not steal. MPs Tissa Attanayake and Kabir Hashim have not been accused of any theft. Then there is Mr. Alavathuwala. We have not heard anything bad about him except that he will get a small commission from a contract.”

“As far as I understand, Parliament is like a kindergarten. It doesn’t matter how much you shout in kindergarten, you have to go and ask for food. That is the truth. Leader of the Opposition, if you become the President in the future, I think you will have to gather more people. Change the Constitution from the very beginning. There is a need to change the people’s attitude. After 30-40 years of government work, an employee retires. A politician gets a pension after five years in Parliament. All this must be done away with. When these things are given to politicians, they think they are entitled to a magical world. No one thinks about the people. Therefore, if we want to develop this country, we have to change the Constitution.”

“You do not need advice from anyone else. You can learn by looking at your late father,” he said.