OF late, some very ugly scenes have played out in the Sri Lankan legislature. According to details, the pandemonium inside parliament has been unprecedented. A second no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse had caused much commotion. Not only was the speaker of parliament prevented from entering the house for an hour, the decorated chair from which he presided over the proceedings was taken away. When another chair, obviously unfit and unprepared for the grand hour, was brought in as a makeshift arrangement it proved too weak to withstand the violence that was wreaked on it. The seat was broken and its parts then served as ammunition for the charged members to attack one another with. The high point in the drama came when some lawmakers found red chilli powder to throw into the eyes of their enemies. Quite rightly, the behaviour of the politicians has been labelled as “disgraceful if not disgusting”.

Reflecting on the Sri Lankan parliamentary ruckus, perhaps we should thank our lucky stars for the small mercies that are sent our way. But for these gifts, we would be sulking at the ignominy of being the worst offenders in virtually every category of democratic rule. Indeed, it is often that our parliamentarians find themselves being publicly censured — justifiably so — for actions that are hardly befitting of those who should be setting an example of model conduct on the floor of the house, and demonstrating how dissenting views need not turn into acrimonious exchanges. As has been indicated in this space, the ugly war of words in recent days between government and opposition members has negatively impacted parliament’s work. However, many would perhaps say that matters are still not out of control, and point to the projectiles in Sri Lanka’s parliament. Be that as it may, it is incumbent to keeping raising the bar of mature, democratic politics and strengthening what is by no means an easy process.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2018