A workshop was held in a city suburb recently to familiarize the Diyawanna members with the nuts and bolts of the proposed Right to Information Act.

Presentations by the resource personnel over, it was the turn of the seniors among the purohitas and Diyawanna members to express their views on the proposed Act. And a prominent purohita who looks after his electorate in Uva from his perch in the city expressed his displeasure at giving the right to information to all and sundry as envisaged in the proposed Act.

He said: “If we are to supply information to every Jack, Tom and Harry in the manner proposed, I don’t think we will be in a position to run this government.” He asked: “Will there be enough time for us to attend to our workaday duties if there is 500 to 1,000 people rush each day to seek information?” 
A sibilance of whispered comment by the members seated at the rear ensued the broadside fired at the proposed Act by the senior purohita. 

“Our man appears to be in a state of terrific fright,” one member told the colleagues around him. 
“What is the reason for him to get into a fright?” another member asked.

A talkative member from the Colombo district came out with the reply to the question. “He is shaking with fright because he knows that he would be in a hell of a soup if his wife took advantage of the new law to find out all about her man.” This sally created ripples of amusement among those seated at the rear.