Angajan Ramanathan

Honourable
Angajan Ramanathan
MP MPC
அங்கஜன் இராமநாதன்
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament
for National List
Assumed office
2015
Member of the Northern Provincial Council for Jaffna District
In office
2013–2015
Succeeded by Agilathas Sivakkolunthu
Personal details
Born (1983-07-09) 9 July 1983
Political party Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Other political
affiliations
United People's Freedom Alliance
Religion Hindu
Ethnicity Sri Lankan Tamil

Angajan Ramanathan (Tamil: அங்கஜன் இராமநாதன்; born 9 July 1983) is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and Member of Parliament. He entered the parliament through the United People's Freedom Alliance National List.[1]

Early life and family

Ramanathan was born on 9 July 1983.[2] Ramanathan's father Sathasivam Ramanathan is an associate of Basil Rajapaksa, brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.[3] Sathasivam Ramanathan is reputed to have made billions from smuggling abroad refugees from the Sri Lankan Civil War and from government corruption.[4][5]

Career

Ramanathan was one of the United People's Freedom Alliance's (UPFA)'s candidates in Jaffna District at the 2010 parliamentary election but failed to get elected after coming seventh amongst the UPFA candidate.[6] During the election campaign, on 31 March 2010, Ramanathan and supporters were attacked by Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a government backed paramilitary group and a member of the UPFA.[7] In retaliation, the following day supporters of Ramanathan shot at Mayor of Jaffna Yogeswari Patkunarajah, a member of the EPDP.[8] In August 2010 Ramanathan was appointed Sri Lanka Freedom Party organiser for Jaffna District by President Rajapaksa.[9]

Ramanathan contested the 2013 provincial council election as one of the UPFA's candidates in Jaffna District and was elected to the Northern Provincial Council.[10][11] During the election campaign, on 27 August 2013, a violent clash took place between UPFA candidates in Chavakachcheri during which Ramanathan's father Sathasivam Ramanathan opened fire on a group led A. Sarvananthan.[12][13] Sathasivam Ramanathan was arrested and remanded for attempted murder.[14][15][16] Also during the election campaign, a UPFA mob, including Ramanathan and his father, attacked Tamil National Alliance candidate P. Thambirajah.[17] The day before the election Ramanathan was still campaigning using SMS, violating electoral law.[18]

Ramanathan was one of the UPFA's candidates in Jaffna District at the 2015 parliamentary election but the UPFA failed to win any seats in the district. However, after the election he was appointed as a UPFA National List MP in Parliament.[19][20] During the election campaign Ramanathan's supporters attacked supporters of the United Socialist Party.[21]

Ramanathan is alleged to have organised abductions and attacks on behalf of the Rajapaksa family.[22] Jaffna UPFA municipal councillor Suveeharan Nishanthan claims he was abducted and assaulted by Ramanathan and his father on 3 April 2013 in Colombo.[23]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Angajan Ramanathan
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
2010 parliamentary[6] Jaffna District UPFA 3,461 Not elected
2013 provincial[11] Jaffna District UPFA 10,034 Elected
2015 parliamentary Jaffna District UPFA Not elected

References

  1. Balachandran, P. K. (22 August 2015). "SL President Sirisena Gains Control Over Parliament And Party". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  2. "Directory of Members: Angajan Ramanathan". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  3. Hoole, Ratnajeevan (14 September 2013). "The Collapsing Den of Thieves". Sri Lanka Guardian.
  4. "Big time racket of former a human smuggler and a paramilitary leader". Sri Lanka Guardian. 23 January 2012.
  5. Jayadevan, Rajasingham (9 September 2013). "Inevitable TNA victory". Sri Lanka Guardian.
  6. 1 2 "Parliamentary General Election - 2010 Jaffna Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  7. "SLFP candidate attacked in Jaffna". TamilNet. 1 April 2010.
  8. "Ruling UPFA Mayor of Jaffna reports of an attempt on her life". TamilNet. 1 April 2010.
  9. "Rajapaksa appoints new SLFP organizer to North". TamilNet. 22 August 2010.
  10. "PART I : SECTION (I) ó GENERAL Government Notifications PROVINCIAL COUNCILS ELECTIONS ACT, No. 2 OF 1988 Northern Province Provincial Council" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1829/33. 25 September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-28.
  11. 1 2 "PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2013 ñ Results and preferential votes: Northern Province". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
  12. "Rajapaksa party brings in gangster politics to Jaffna". TamilNet. 28 August 2013.
  13. "UPFA chief ministerial candidate condemns intra-party shooting". Ceylon Today. 2 September 2013.
  14. "Intra-party violence due to PR system - Angajan". The Island (Sri Lanka). 2 September 2013.
  15. "SLFP Organizer Ankajan Father Ramanathan Released On Bail". Asian Tribune. 19 September 2013.
  16. Thambiah, Mirudhula (1 September 2013). "More intra-party violence than inter-party, say polls monitors". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  17. "Attack on TNA candidate Thambirajah". Tamil Information Centre. 20 August 2013.
  18. "Northern Provincial Council Election 2013 – Communiqué No 7". entre for Policy Alternatives. 21 September 2013.
  19. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION — 2015 Declaration under Article 99A of the Constitution" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1928/25. 21 August 2015.
  20. "UPFA finalises National list". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 21 August 2015.
  21. "USP supporters come under Paappa attack - Siritunga Jayasuriya reports UPFA supporters". Ceylon Today. 11 August 2015.
  22. "Notorious SLFP Jaffna candidate put on national list after election loss". Tamil Guardian. 21 August 2015.
  23. "Former member of Jaffna UPFA MC says he was abducted and attacked". Center for Human Rights and Research. 9 April 2013.
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