This Diyawanna member who presided over education in the previous regime has got a knack for taking people by surprise. Quite recently he sprang a surprise on his colleagues from both sides of the divide when he declined to accept the prestigious chair of the council’s accounts committee. 



Practically all yahapalanaya top brass had earlier given their nod when the Senior Banda from the hills proposed the name of the onetime tuition master for the chair of the committee.  They all had agreed that Economics being the man’s forte, he could acquit himself well in this job. 
However, true to his streak of doing the least expected, the former purohita, and now a heavyweight of the ‘joint opposition’ had turned down the offer saying: “Our group in the opposition accounts for about 50 members. But the government is not prepared to give due recognition to us. Therefore, I have decided not to accept this post…”
So the government had to look for another suitable person to head the committee, they say.