UNP, AJP won’t be present

Two come from Welikada and B’caloa prisons to take oaths tomorrow

… Chandrakanthan second ex-LTTE cadre to become lawmaker

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Among those scheduled to take oaths as lawmakers tomorrow (20) are Premalal Jayasekera and Sivenesathurai Chandrakanthan a.k.a. Pillayan currently held in the Welikada and Batticaloa prisons, respectively.

The UNP and Ape Janabala Pakshaya wouldn’t attend the inaugural session as both parties couldn’t resolve simmering disputes over the appointment of National List members. Both parties won one NL slot each.

Jayasekera a.k.a. Choka Malli contested Ratnapura district on the SLPP ticket whereas Chandrakanthan a.k.a. Pillayan contested from the Batticaloa District while being in remand custody.

Chandrakanthan backed the SLPP at both presidential and parliamentary elections in Nov 2019 and August 2020. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa himself visited Chandrakanthan in Oct 2019 to finalise electoral agreement in this regard.

Chandrakanthan, who leads the breakaway LTTE faction TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal) was taken into custody in Oct 2015 over his alleged involvement in the assassination of Batticaloa District TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham inside a church during Christmas mass in 2014.

Chandrakanthan succeeded Karuna Amman as the TMVP leader in 2007.

A senior parliamentary official told The Island that Premalal though being convicted by the Ratnapura High Court over a killing in Kahawatte in January 2015 had appealed against that decision and, therefore, he could be sworn in as an MP. The former UPFA Deputy Minister polled over 140,000 preferential votes and was placed second in the Ratnapura district.

Pillayan, who fought for the LTTE under Karuna, is the second ex-LTTE cadre to enter parliament. The first was Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman, who was accommodated in Parliament on the UPFA ticket during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s first tenure as the President. The UPFA again appointed Karuna to Parliament in 2010 on the National List.

Chandrakanthan also served as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province.

Karuna was unsuccessful in his attempt to enter parliament from Digamadulla district at the recently concluded general election.