Not only Caesar’s wife, but also Lord Rama’s too. How? One night Lord Rama who was doing his rounds in the capital, heard a woman crying from a washer man’s house and the man beating her saying “do you think I am Rama to accept you just?”.

Lord Rama understood the subject. Next day he asked his wife Sita, who was brought back to Ayodhya after her captivity in Lanka by King Rawana, that she should walk through a ring of fire to prove her purity.

Sita asked whether he suspected her morality. Rama said, “I do not, but the world also should not.” She walked through successfully. It's not just important to be above board and transparent, but also appear to be so.

Given the state of our political system, this kind of requirement seems laughably quaint. But if the system is to improve, keeping this principle in mind is crucial because it is a pre-requisite for good governance in the political spheres.

Well, let me come to the subject. “Ordinary people” of this country who are the masters carry A380 plane load of suspicions, which can not be listed here, that the 2010 presidential election result is too good to be true.

Their perception is, it is a mathematical fraud assisted by cyber crime. Day by day it is gaining ground with evidence emerging from mouth to mouth, from all corners of the country, though the Masses are calm and quiet, perhaps accepting their karma or calm before storm.

It is said, a counting agent of the General in an electorate in Kalutara district, announced to his supporters that his candidate had obtained 75% of the votes cast. It was believable as that electorate is predominantly of minorities. In realty, the General had lost.

An agent of SF in Colombo district, in the Catholic belt, informed his superiors at 10 pm that the postal votes were coming thumping in his favour. But from 11 pm his phone line lost connection. Another agent here told his people that the General had won by a margin of 14,000 votes. He was shocked to hear in the morning that the General had lost by 400 votes.

But the arm chair political pundits look at it in a different way basing on the age old practice of stuffing, booth capturing, ballot box changing and arguing that such a huge majority of this nature can not be undermined even though the reported normal malpractices presumed to have taken place.

Actually the huge margin is the cause that made the masses to raise eye brows in surprise.

First of all, to have such a landslide, as mentioned by government friendly media, there was no visible ‘wave’ in favour of the incumbent president.

Had that existed, he would have saved lot of money and time. No buses would have been needed to collect crowd from different electorates or some times from other provinces too with a subsidy of meals, liquor and Rs.500 per person.

On the other hand General’s crowd came on their own without any inducement. People watching from roof top of buildings and trees were not hired. At times regular transport in those areas was hampered.

Citing the grateful voters and the large scale swing of the floating voters in favour of the ruler are unacceptable as our voters are not that matured with each and every issue, unlike the developed country voters.

Floating voters are mostly town based and villagers do make up their mind early with their own conviction. It was true they were usurped by racial fire at times. Same medicine would not be effective for ever. Nothing will stand before hunger.

Also the word gratitude is gradually going out of the dictionary nowadays, as, in this world of consumer culture, people are more selfish and no one is grateful to other, especially towards politicians it is almost nil because no politician does any thing free.

Even a police inspector has to bribe Rs.350.000 for a transfer. People do not appreciate what they got but they will complain about what they did not get. This fact was well known to the rulers and that was why they left no stone unturned – to be precise, not even a marble left unturned.

The unmarried woman, all of a sudden came with a bonny baby boy in her hands saying ‘give a kiss, this is my child’. No I can’t. It is a bastard child. There is only one Virgin Mary in this world.

The whole purpose of going for a four year election is not to risk the throne but to become victorious by hook or crook. So it is done. A daily quoted with a comma, Mahinda Accepts ‘People’s Victory’. Wednesday 27th January 2010. 18.00. Does not this comma convey a hidden message like the Election Commissioner’s statement?

Opposition cries foul. The victor keeps mum. His allies bluntly say prove it or go to court. Generally, in politics it is better the accused cleanse his/ her name instead of continuing with a tarred image.

The father suspects that the boy went to cinema without his permission. The youth who denies the allegation, should prove where he was.

If every thing is snow white not Swan white, why not appoint a commission and attend to the charges so that the authorities can shut the mouth of the opposition and that of the General who the government is said to be trying to shut – some times for ever?

We too have to keep in mind, a judge who delivers a verdict on a murder or rape case, was neither present in the scene nor knew about the incident before or after it took place. If so how does he pronounce ‘Guilty”?.

According to the law he has been endowed, he studies the circumstance, all parts of the case and forms his own decision that the crime is committed beyond doubt. Not always he is right too.

Just because a journalist asked ‘uncomfortable questions’ as to where a particular VVIP was during that tensed hour, she or he can not come under the hammer to be deported.

Oh God, it was not like Elin Nordegren asking Tiger Woods where he was, even though there are many Tiger Woods in our political circle prowling around the city after midnights while their security contingent keeps yawning on the road side or parking yards of star class hotels, losing sleep.

If the concerned minister had proved where that VVIP was, instead of getting angry and using the draconian power which had to be retracted, the subject would have got a natural death. The same way when journalists bring out some thing as “expose”, if it is untrue prove it.

Arresting reporters, closing down news papers and later court reversing and all will give an impression to people that the news could be right. In no country, in the long run, what Napoleon Bonaparte feared can be stifled by sword less emperors.

My contention is, had the LTTE conducted their war fare against those who were fighting them only, leaving the public untouched, a reasonable amount of support from the right thinking majority community could have been obtained, not for a separate state, to address to their problems meaningfully.

Political analysts and the fourth estate that do not want to annoy the establishment may sing for their supper. One must go to the street. Go to the fish market, they say every thing is fishy.

In 1970 parliamentary election where SLFP’s ULF won, J.R.Jayewardena of UNP, contesting in Colombo South dual member electorate scored 57,605 votes of 59.32% while Bernard Soyza of LSSP got 36,783 votes of 38%.

After thanking the voters in the constituency, JR said “all say they voted for Bernard, but I have got 57,605, I could not see them”. In contrast today many say” I voted for him. How can he lose?”

Mahatma Gandhi said, not only the intention to be good, the method to achieve it also should be good. That way we can not avoid suspecting the results where the king proved here that he was above law to achieve his goal. This is where the previous word of ‘zero casualty of civilians’ in the Vanni becomes unbelievable.

In the Australian open Tennis 2010 last week, Serena Williams who beat Justine Henin praised her opponent saying “Justine’s had such a fabulous tournament and she gave me such a run today. It could have gone either way”. This is sportsmanship. Why does that decency lack in SL politics?

A Sunday paper founded by the late Kandos boss, and said to have good rapport with a VVIP, on the 24th January asked, stability or anarchy?

Harassing the opponent, assaulting his supporters, witch-hunting, fabricating stories that do not corroborate, raiding and taking away others property like war loot by intolerant, noisy and undisciplined armed forces remind us about “ Gestapo”, the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Is it anarchy or stability?

Adolph Hitler came to power through democratic means and turned a dictator. The Nazi terror in the early years affected the lives of few Germans and the people did not seem to feel that they were being cowed.

On the contrary, they supported it with genuine enthusiasm. Somehow it imbued them with a new hope and a new confidence and an astonishing faith in the future of their country. The final result was disastrous, paid with millions of life.

Since Caesar took no steps to save his honour, position and free his wife from suspicion, the thought whether we are going in the path of Nazi Germany shreds fear as the cabinet is full of Goebbels.

Heil Hitler!