Mahinda Rajapaksa tendered his resignation today seven weeks after he was appointed as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka replacing Ranil Wickremesinghe. The unconstitutional act of President Maithripala Sirisena was&nbsp;struck down by court and&nbsp;drew huge criticism from Sri Lanka and around the world.&nbsp;Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's former president, signed his resignation letter at a ceremony in his house. The resignation brought the curtain down on the two-month impasse and the power struggle between the two biggest Political Parties in the country. &nbsp;Wickremesinghe is expected to return to office on Sunday.&nbsp;

In an exclusive conversation with WION, Namal Rajapaksa, son of Mahinda Rajapaksa, spoke about his next course of action, China’s role in the island nation and importance of India-Sri Lanka relationship. Edited excerpts&nbsp;

 
WION: What will be your next move now that former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned?

Namal: Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday tendered his resignation after the Supreme Court delivered a judgement against the holding of the General Election which was declared by President Maithripala Sirisena.&nbsp;

In a special statement released on Saturday, following his resignation, Rajapaksa said he was resigning so that a new government could be formed under President Sirisena.

Also, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna along with President Sirisena and his United People's Freedom Alliance will work to form a broad coalition. The United National Party has been stripped to a minor government now with only 103 seats, so we will now establish a strong opposition and work for the betterment of Sri Lanka.&nbsp;

WION: What does the SLPP think is the best for the people of Sri Lanka? Fresh elections or letting Ranil complete his term?

Namal: In any country, when the government holds only 103 seats in a 225 member Parliament, how can it get anything done? On Dec 12, when a resolution was passed expressing confidence in Ranil Wickremasinghe, the country was able to see the real state of things. A total of 117 MPs voted for Ranil Wickremasinghe. 14 of those votes belonged to the TNA. Even though the TNA requested that Ranil Wickremasinghe be appointed as Prime Minister, on the same day, TNA Parliamentarian Mavei Senathirajah made a special statement in Parliament on behalf of the TNA saying that though they voted for Wickremesinghe, they would not join the government and would remain in the opposition. So this itself clearly shows that the UNP will now function as a minority government with 103 seats.

Therefore, we will continue to call for a Parliamentary Election as it is the only way through which a strong, stable, government can come into place. It will be difficult for Wickremesinghe to continue with a minority government.

WION: There has been no word from President Sirisena on your father's resignation. Did you or your party speak to him? What is his take on this?

Namal: Durin the Parliamentary group meeting on Friday evening we had conveyed to President Sirisena that we will resign because that was the understanding from the very beginning. We had only come in as a caretaker government for about two months, with the final goal of holding a Parliamentary Election. So when the Supreme Court ruled otherwise, there was no point in us in trying to persuade MPs to join our side when we never wanted to form a government without holding an election.&nbsp;

WION: Will you be supporting the impeachment process if brought against President Sirisena?

Namal: The impeachment motion is purely the idea of the UNP and it is they who are initiating this. We believe that President Sirisena acted in the best interest of the nation when he sacked Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister. Even now, although we respect the Supreme Court decision, we believe that it is the people's mandate which should be taken into account. So, we are not willing to support the UNP in this impeachment motion as it has been brought in only for the UNPs interest. Already the government is very unstable, so there is no point in making the presidency unstable too.

WION: How do you look at India, Sri Lanka ties.

Namal: Rajapaksa, I and the party, have always maintained that India has been one of our strongest friends and development partners. That has not changed in any way. Rajapaksa has always maintained strong ties with the successive Indian leaders. In fact, during his tenure as President, Rajapaksa worked closely with Indian leaders to strengthen several sectors in both countries. But of course, all our foreign relations have been based on a non-aligned policy. So we will continue our relations with India in this manner.

&nbsp;WION: Do you think there is any Chinese role in the current turmoil in your country?

Namal: Not at all. These are all baseless allegations. China, just like India, has been a strong friend and partner of Sri Lanka. We praise their policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka or any other country. It is not right to falsely discredit any country.

Mahinda Rajapaksa tendered his resignation today seven weeks after he was appointed as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka replacing Ranil Wickremesinghe. The unconstitutional act of President Maithripala Sirisena was struck down by court and drew huge criticism from Sri Lanka and around the world.

Mahinda Rajapaksa tendered his resignation today seven weeks after he was appointed as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka replacing Ranil Wickremesinghe. The unconstitutional act of President Maithripala Sirisena was struck down by court and drew huge criticism from Sri Lanka and around the world. Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's former president, signed his resignation letter at a ceremony in his house. The resignation brought the curtain down on the two-month impasse and the power struggle between the two biggest Political Parties in the country. Wickremesinghe is expected to return to office on Sunday. In an exclusive conversation with WION, Namal Rajapaksa, son of Mahinda Rajapaksa, spoke about his next course of action, China’s role in the island nation and importance of India-Sri Lanka relationship. Edited excerpts WION: What will be your next move now that former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned? Namal: Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday tendered his resignation after the Supreme Court delivered a judgement against the holding of the General Election which was declared by President Maithripala Sirisena. In a special statement released on Saturday, following his resignation, Rajapaksa said he was resigning so that a new government could be formed under President Sirisena. Also, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna along with President Sirisena and his United People's Freedom Alliance will work to form a broad coalition. The United National Party has been stripped to a minor government now with only 103 seats, so we will now establish a strong opposition and work for the betterment of Sri Lanka. WION: What does the SLPP think is the best for the people of Sri Lanka? Fresh elections or letting Ranil complete his term? Namal: In any country, when the government holds only 103 seats in a 225 member Parliament, how can it get anything done? On Dec 12, when a resolution was passed expressing confidence in Ranil Wickremasinghe, the country was able to see the real state of things. A total of 117 MPs voted for Ranil Wickremasinghe. 14 of those votes belonged to the TNA. Even though the TNA requested that Ranil Wickremasinghe be appointed as Prime Minister, on the same day, TNA Parliamentarian Mavei Senathirajah made a special statement in Parliament on behalf of the TNA saying that though they voted for Wickremesinghe, they would not join the government and would remain in the opposition. So this itself clearly shows that the UNP will now function as a minority government with 103 seats. Therefore, we will continue to call for a Parliamentary Election as it is the only way through which a strong, stable, government can come into place. It will be difficult for Wickremesinghe to continue with a minority government. WION: There has been no word from President Sirisena on your father's resignation. Did you or your party speak to him? What is his take on this? Namal: Durin the Parliamentary group meeting on Friday evening we had conveyed to President Sirisena that we will resign because that was the understanding from the very beginning. We had only come in as a caretaker government for about two months, with the final goal of holding a Parliamentary Election. So when the Supreme Court ruled otherwise, there was no point in us in trying to persuade MPs to join our side when we never wanted to form a government without holding an election. WION: Will you be supporting the impeachment process if brought against President Sirisena? Namal: The impeachment motion is purely the idea of the UNP and it is they who are initiating this. We believe that President Sirisena acted in the best interest of the nation when he sacked Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister. Even now, although we respect the Supreme Court decision, we believe that it is the people's mandate which should be taken into account. So, we are not willing to support the UNP in this impeachment motion as it has been brought in only for the UNPs interest. Already the government is very unstable, so there is no point in making the presidency unstable too. WION: How do you look at India, Sri Lanka ties. Namal: Rajapaksa, I and the party, have always maintained that India has been one of our strongest friends and development partners. That has not changed in any way. Rajapaksa has always maintained strong ties with the successive Indian leaders. In fact, during his tenure as President, Rajapaksa worked closely with Indian leaders to strengthen several sectors in both countries. But of course, all our foreign relations have been based on a non-aligned policy. So we will continue our relations with India in this manner. WION: Do you think there is any Chinese role in the current turmoil in your country? Namal: Not at all. These are all baseless allegations. China, just like India, has been a strong friend and partner of Sri Lanka. We praise their policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka or any other country. It is not right to falsely discredit any country.

Rajapaksa maintained strong ties with successive Indian leaders: Son Namal 

David Litt served from 2011 to 2016 as the special assistant to President Obama. He played a crucial role in the Obama presidency as the senior presidential speechwriter. He was the youngest to do in US history. Known as the comic muse for the US President, David is also known as the &quot;Man Behind the President&#39;s Jokes&quot;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION took this opportunity to speak to David Litt who reflected on myriad topics from the role of jokes in politics to Trump, from Obama&#39;s iconic speeches to Air Force One.

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp; You were just 24 years old when you started at the White House. How did you get to the speechwriter for Barack Obama?

Litt: I was one of the college students in 2008 who was energised by Barack Obama Campaign and after I graduated I moved to Ohio and worked at the state level at the campaigns and then I moved to Washington having no plans of becoming a speech writer, but then one thing led to another and then I&nbsp; ended up getting a job at a firm writing speech for CEOs and other companies mostly private sector leaders.&nbsp;

Few years after that White House had the opening at the bottom of the ladder for a speechwriter to the senior staff. And they basically said- Hey if you want to apply for this job your references are pretty good, you are the only applicant. Why don&#39;t you come over to work at the White House and I was like- Yeah okay, that sounds pretty good. I can do that.

So I hope there was a little talent involved but I think it was to be at the right place at the right time. &nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/170925-thegist-davidlitt.crop.promo-xlarge2-20180109111304.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
&#39;Man Behind the President&#39;s Jokes&#39; (WION)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

 
Let&#39;s go a little backward and try and get to know the &#39;Man Behind Presidents Words&#39; a little better.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: Where did you grow up? And how did it all started?&nbsp;

Litt: I grew up in New York City in Manhattan, and I was never incredibly politically active but my parents would talk about politics like the other people&#39;s parents talk about sports around at the dinner table, and I had never planned of being a political speechwriter but I did write a lot of comedy. So, I had done stand-up comedy when I was in High School, I edited a Humour Magazine when I was in college and that was the sort of entry that I had in writing. It turned out to be useful but I hadn&#39;t guessed that in advance. I never planned on being a writer professionally.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: What was your first President Obama moment?&nbsp;

Litt: First time I met President Obama was for a video where he was wishing America Happy Thanks Giving so it was not a big important video but for me, it was really important. I have never written anything like this. And we went to the taping to watch the President and right before the President started, the videographer she stopped and she turn(ed) to me and said- Mr. President, this is David and this is the first time that he has ever written for you.

President Obama turned to me and said: Well, how is it going for you, David?

And I have literally no idea of what I said. I literally blacked out. Like I don&#39;t remember what I told the President.

Later, I found out that it was (a) completely common occurrence. Like people would meet him and completely short circuit and not remember a word they said.

I guess it happened to the best of us something that we are not familiar.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: If I were to mention some of the most iconic speeches that Barack Obama made I would recall the speech on Race (relations) that he gave in 2008. Do you think he has more of a personal touch in his speeches, unlike other politicians?

Litt: I think the speech was very personal, I mean not exclusively. Many many speeches that President Obama gave was deeply personal.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: How has comedy been the tool of getting a political message out?

Litt: One of the things that I learned when I was in the White House and it becomes more true with time is that comedy is a great way of getting attention and it&#39;s harder to get peoples attention than ever before. You know with the Internet.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp; One interesting thing about President Obama was that he gave a lot of references about people in his speeches. You were meant to be talking to these people and getting the insights. What was that like?

Litt:&nbsp; One of my favourite part of the job was to talk to people who were not in Washington DC; who were going to be mentioned by the President but they often didn&#39;t know that. So, I would talk to them, hear their stories and then we will pick people who were really inspiring. You know people who were demonstrating resilience of which all Americans can be proud of.

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp; You have mentioned about &quot;The Plane&quot; in your book. How cool is it to be the one on &quot;The Plane&quot;?

Litt: Air Force One is just pretty awesome. I mean there is getting around that. There are lots of perks of the White House that wouldn&#39;t be as amazing as you think but Air Force is actually amazing. It wasn&#39;t even about the perks it was about being on Air Force One. More than the White House, in certain ways, Air Force One is the symbol of America...It&#39;s just really special. I do fly coach now. So yeah, I do miss that part of my job.

&nbsp;

WION: What is the process of writing a comic speech for the President?&nbsp;

Litt: In someway jokes are not the highest stakes thing the President has got to do, in fact, it can be just opposite. But they (jokes) can be very difficult because in a joke every word needs to be exactly right. So we would get jokes from 12-13 people, we would give hundreds of ideas and cut that down to 40, and then work with the President to pick with him the one he likes the most.&nbsp;

President Obama in addition to being a funny guy in person is amazing in delivering a joke on stage. So he made us look good which you know was pretty nice.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: Tell us about two of the best memories while working for the White House?&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Litt:&nbsp;That&#39;s a difficult question because there are so many things.

One of the best memory that I have is the first day I walked through the gate. The feeling of saying, wait is it really me in here? It was impossible not to have that going through in my head.&nbsp;

The other moment was when President Obama gave one of his best speeches, most important speeches that I think, was when he spoke for the victims of Mass Shooting in Charlottesville... at the same day the Supreme Court ruled in favour of marriage equality, so gays and lesbians could get married nationwide, and also a day before (the) Supreme Court upheld the Healthcare law. All three of those things combined people from all over Washington. (They) started coming to the White House and White House was lit up in the colour of a rainbow. You see a little progress every time and you see that your country is a lot better place in the evening than it was in the morning. That is pretty amazing to be a part off.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: What were some of the challenges of writing speeches for one of the most powerful men on this planet?

Litt: People constantly criticising of what you write though they don&#39;t know that you are writing it. And also you have people who are always taking words out of context. I mean that is politics. And it is then when you have to constantly look over your shoulder while writing, which is hard.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: What was the thing that you loved most about working with President Obama?&nbsp;

Litt:&nbsp; What I loved working with President Obama was to be a chance to be a part of these moments. To play even the smallest role in somebody&#39;s kid getting a healthcare when they needed or somebody feeling that their story is becoming a part of the American story that they never thought it would be. Just to be one of many many people contributing to that was a very very good feeling.&nbsp; And I really do miss that.

&nbsp;

WION: What were your fear while writing for the President?

Litt: My biggest fear was making a mistake that would make my Boss Look bad. You know if he looked bad it will be a national news may be not just in the US, it could be international news. So the stakes were just so much higher. The job was similar but the consequences of the mistakes were not just the same.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp;What do you think will be the most difficult part to deal while writing for President Trump?

Litt: One of the things that I learnt was that the words are important but what is more imp is the ideas behind it. Most difficult part for me to write for Donald Trump would be the world of his ideas which I do not agree with as it is contrary to everything America stood for since the beginning of the US. And so the speechwriting thing would be difficult and I wouldn&#39;t be taking up the job is that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way he views the US.

&nbsp;

WION: In this age of social media where the Twitter rules, what is the relevance of a speech?

Litt:&nbsp; I think the speeches that the President gives will always matter. What might matter is the day to day speaking that the President would do. But I think in big moments like State of the Union or in times of Crisis, people want to hear from the President. People want to hear from there leaders. And I think that is still true even in a social media age. And people sill want this stability and the depth of understanding that you only can get through a speech; you can&#39;t really get through a tweet.

"Most difficult part for me to write for Donald Trump would be the world of his ideas, which I do not agree with, as it is contrary to everything America stood for since the beginning of the US", David Litt, senior presidential speechwriter of Barack Obama

David Litt served from 2011 to 2016 as the special assistant to President Obama. He played a crucial role in the Obama presidency as the senior presidential speechwriter. He was the youngest to do in US history. Known as the comic muse for the US President, David is also known as the "Man Behind the President's Jokes". WION took this opportunity to speak to David Litt who reflected on myriad topics from the role of jokes in politics to Trump, from Obama's iconic speeches to Air Force One. WION: You were just 24 years old when you started at the White House. How did you get to the speechwriter for Barack Obama? Litt: I was one of the college students in 2008 who was energised by Barack Obama Campaign and after I graduated I moved to Ohio and worked at the state level at the campaigns and then I moved to Washington having no plans of becoming a speech writer, but then one thing led to another and then I ended up getting a job at a firm writing speech for CEOs and other companies mostly private sector leaders. Few years after that White House had the opening at the bottom of the ladder for a speechwriter to the senior staff. And they basically said- Hey if you want to apply for this job your references are pretty good, you are the only applicant. Why don't you come over to work at the White House and I was like- Yeah okay, that sounds pretty good. I can do that. So I hope there was a little talent involved but I think it was to be at the right place at the right time. 'Man Behind the President's Jokes' (WION) × Let's go a little backward and try and get to know the 'Man Behind Presidents Words' a little better. WION: Where did you grow up? And how did it all started? Litt: I grew up in New York City in Manhattan, and I was never incredibly politically active but my parents would talk about politics like the other people's parents talk about sports around at the dinner table, and I had never planned of being a political speechwriter but I did write a lot of comedy. So, I had done stand-up comedy when I was in High School, I edited a Humour Magazine when I was in college and that was the sort of entry that I had in writing. It turned out to be useful but I hadn't guessed that in advance. I never planned on being a writer professionally. WION: What was your first President Obama moment? Litt: First time I met President Obama was for a video where he was wishing America Happy Thanks Giving so it was not a big important video but for me, it was really important. I have never written anything like this. And we went to the taping to watch the President and right before the President started, the videographer she stopped and she turn(ed) to me and said- Mr. President, this is David and this is the first time that he has ever written for you. President Obama turned to me and said: Well, how is it going for you, David? And I have literally no idea of what I said. I literally blacked out. Like I don't remember what I told the President. Later, I found out that it was (a) completely common occurrence. Like people would meet him and completely short circuit and not remember a word they said. I guess it happened to the best of us something that we are not familiar. WION: If I were to mention some of the most iconic speeches that Barack Obama made I would recall the speech on Race (relations) that he gave in 2008. Do you think he has more of a personal touch in his speeches, unlike other politicians? Litt: I think the speech was very personal, I mean not exclusively. Many many speeches that President Obama gave was deeply personal. WION: How has comedy been the tool of getting a political message out? Litt: One of the things that I learned when I was in the White House and it becomes more true with time is that comedy is a great way of getting attention and it's harder to get peoples attention than ever before. You know with the Internet. WION: One interesting thing about President Obama was that he gave a lot of references about people in his speeches. You were meant to be talking to these people and getting the insights. What was that like? Litt: One of my favourite part of the job was to talk to people who were not in Washington DC; who were going to be mentioned by the President but they often didn't know that. So, I would talk to them, hear their stories and then we will pick people who were really inspiring. You know people who were demonstrating resilience of which all Americans can be proud of. WION: You have mentioned about "The Plane" in your book. How cool is it to be the one on "The Plane"? Litt: Air Force One is just pretty awesome. I mean there is getting around that. There are lots of perks of the White House that wouldn't be as amazing as you think but Air Force is actually amazing. It wasn't even about the perks it was about being on Air Force One. More than the White House, in certain ways, Air Force One is the symbol of America...It's just really special. I do fly coach now. So yeah, I do miss that part of my job. WION: What is the process of writing a comic speech for the President? Litt: In someway jokes are not the highest stakes thing the President has got to do, in fact, it can be just opposite. But they (jokes) can be very difficult because in a joke every word needs to be exactly right. So we would get jokes from 12-13 people, we would give hundreds of ideas and cut that down to 40, and then work with the President to pick with him the one he likes the most. President Obama in addition to being a funny guy in person is amazing in delivering a joke on stage. So he made us look good which you know was pretty nice. WION: Tell us about two of the best memories while working for the White House? Litt: That's a difficult question because there are so many things. One of the best memory that I have is the first day I walked through the gate. The feeling of saying, wait is it really me in here? It was impossible not to have that going through in my head. The other moment was when President Obama gave one of his best speeches, most important speeches that I think, was when he spoke for the victims of Mass Shooting in Charlottesville... at the same day the Supreme Court ruled in favour of marriage equality, so gays and lesbians could get married nationwide, and also a day before (the) Supreme Court upheld the Healthcare law. All three of those things combined people from all over Washington. (They) started coming to the White House and White House was lit up in the colour of a rainbow. You see a little progress every time and you see that your country is a lot better place in the evening than it was in the morning. That is pretty amazing to be a part off. WION: What were some of the challenges of writing speeches for one of the most powerful men on this planet? Litt: People constantly criticising of what you write though they don't know that you are writing it. And also you have people who are always taking words out of context. I mean that is politics. And it is then when you have to constantly look over your shoulder while writing, which is hard. WION: What was the thing that you loved most about working with President Obama? Litt: What I loved working with President Obama was to be a chance to be a part of these moments. To play even the smallest role in somebody's kid getting a healthcare when they needed or somebody feeling that their story is becoming a part of the American story that they never thought it would be. Just to be one of many many people contributing to that was a very very good feeling. And I really do miss that. WION: What were your fear while writing for the President? Litt: My biggest fear was making a mistake that would make my Boss Look bad. You know if he looked bad it will be a national news may be not just in the US, it could be international news. So the stakes were just so much higher. The job was similar but the consequences of the mistakes were not just the same. WION: What do you think will be the most difficult part to deal while writing for President Trump? Litt: One of the things that I learnt was that the words are important but what is more imp is the ideas behind it. Most difficult part for me to write for Donald Trump would be the world of his ideas which I do not agree with as it is contrary to everything America stood for since the beginning of the US. And so the speechwriting thing would be difficult and I wouldn't be taking up the job is that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way he views the US. WION: In this age of social media where the Twitter rules, what is the relevance of a speech? Litt: I think the speeches that the President gives will always matter. What might matter is the day to day speaking that the President would do. But I think in big moments like State of the Union or in times of Crisis, people want to hear from the President. People want to hear from there leaders. And I think that is still true even in a social media age. And people sill want this stability and the depth of understanding that you only can get through a speech; you can't really get through a tweet.

Opinion: On Obama, Trump, Air Force One and Jokes

Author

Zee News Rajasthan

Editor

Praphul Singh

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