For a country that boasts of a “proud” 2,500-year history, the darkest day in Parliament was witnessed last Friday afternoon. Members turned thugs-in-suits of the “Pohottuwa” turned the House into a war zone, while members of the majority group sat in silence in the Opposition benches. Representatives of foreign countries who were occupying the public galleries were visibly appalled at the calibre of the so-called representatives of the people of Sri Lanka. Friday’s horror in Parliament was the second day in a row when MPs of the Podujana Peramuna disrupted proceedings in order to prevent a vote. Mahinda Rajapaksa who was seated in the Prime Minister’s seat was seemingly directing operations as his members wreaked havoc and destroyed whatever sanctity that was left of the place. The modus operandi appears to be to disrupt Parliament at every turn and make it impossible to carry out business, and hasten its dissolution. President Maithripala Sirisena seems to be happy to play ball and watch the unfolding chaos, little realising that it is just a matter of time before the same violence spills on to the streets. Sirisena is obviously smarting from the double blow he received with the Supreme Court granting interim relief to the Opposition parties that challenged the dissolution order and the passage of the vote of no confidence in his chosen prime minister. How long more is President Maithripala Sirisena, who is the sole architect of this chaos, going to sit back and watch Asia’s oldest democracy being destroyed? It is no longer a matter of soothing his ego, because the country is in peril and sliding down the slope into chaos and anarchy. Maithripala Sirisena seems to have forgotten that he was ushered in by 6.2 million voters to restore democracy and not to preside over its destruction. The President’s stubborn refusal to accept the fact that his Prime Minister does not command the support of the majority of members, as demonstrated by two No-confidence Motions that were passed in Parliament last week, only goes to show that he is playing ball with the Pohottuwa strategy to force an election. The despicable conduct of the Pohottuwa members in order to execute “operation disruption” has been broadcasted live on TV, but the thick-skinned members don’t seem to care a hoot for public opinion. One would shudder at the thought of this group conducting an impending election. People on both sides of the political divide are growing angry and frustrated by the action and inaction of their head of state. Instead of quickly resolving the constitutional crisis he created three weeks ago, the head of state has bungled his way from one constitutional disaster to another, disrupting the normal lifestyle of the people, and causing the state apparatus to go into hibernation in the absence of a recognised government. He has sat and watched this sordid drama, adding fuel to the fire every now and then. As far as the country is concerned, it will be on sleep mode until the Supreme Court decides on the dissolution order. For his part, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who clearly knows he does not have the majority, has decided to stay put, knowing very well that no bill or vote his government presents can be passed in Parliament. So far, he has lost two no-confidence votes and for all intents and purposes it would be safe to assume that there is no real government in the country today. Name board ministers have been unable to mobilise the bureaucracy which has chosen to play safe until such time there is constitutional clarity on who really is calling the shots. While Rajapaksa has been issuing directives, Wickremesinghe who’s still occupying Temple Trees has warned public officials not to follow “illegal” orders and doing so will be at their own risk. State officials have reason to be wary as Wickremesinghe has displayed his majority in Parliament on multiple occasions and it is only an obstinate President that is preventing him from resuming his chair. It is not only the state sector that has been affected by the present political impasse. The private sector is equally affected, if not to a larger extent, as approvals from state entities, payments etc. are in limbo with state institutions remaining headless. The light at the end of the tunnel is that the patience of the people seems to be running out. The spontaneous crowds that poured onto the streets in and around Lipton Circus last Thursday evening is the surest sign that the end game has finally begun. The success of the rally which was organised in less than 24 hours has been a real eye-opener for the President, who is now running out of “trump cards”. It is clear that an already burdened people are in no mood to tolerate personal vendettas that are holding the entire country to ransom. The biggest beneficiary of this has been the bruised and battered United National Party (UNP) which has been given a new lease of life by the President’s undemocratic actions. Events of the past three weeks have helped to unite the splintered party. People who distanced themselves from the party have put aside their differences and once again begun to rally around it. This group would likely make a significant impact at a future poll. Meanwhile, MP Namal Rajapaksa has been justifying the call for an election stating it is the democratic thing to do. What Rajapaksa does not understand is that it is undemocratic to suppress the mandate given to a government by prematurely calling for an election in violation of the Constitution to boot. If the President is allowed to dissolve Parliament at any time, even if he doesn’t like the face of the Prime Minister, then it amounts to a dictatorship as argued by lawyer Hijaz Hezbullah, who represented Elections Commission Member Jeevan Hoole in the Supreme Court. And for all intents and purposes, as Hezbullah suggested, it has been somewhat of a dictatorship for the past three weeks, with the Sirisena show holding sway. After 70 years of independence, the biggest stumbling block to Sri Lanka’s prosperity has been its politicians who have never hesitated to use the peoples’ mandate for their personal benefit. The need of the hour is to save the country from its politicians, President included.