By Shamindra Ferdinando

Jaffna District Development Council co-chairperson Angajan Ramanathan yesterday (10) denied accusations regarding his coordinating officers threatening the Jaffna-based public servants. Northern Province Governor Sarojini Manmatharajah Charles is the other co-chairperson of the Jaffna DDC.

SLFP MP Ramanathan, who is also the Deputy Chairman of Committees, emphasised that he had never resorted to threats.

SLFP MP Ramanathan said so when The Island sought an explanation regarding fellow Jaffna District lawmaker and Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda accusations directed at his coordinating officers.

Nelson Edirisinghe, Media Secretary to Minister Devananda in a statement issued on Tuesday (9) quoted EPDP leader Devananda as having said that public servants should properly discharge their responsibilities. Public servants shouldn’t give into dictates of politicians’ associates, Minister Devananda said, adding that public servants appreciated the stand taken by him.

Alleging that Jaffna District Development Council co-chairperson’s coordinating officers had threatened public servants on several occasions, Minister Devananda said that such conduct wouldn’t be tolerated. Demanding an immediate end to such practices, Minister Devananda assured those who took correct decisions would be protected.

The Fisheries Ministry statement also claimed that several Tamil lawmakers representing the Northern Province, including M.A. Sumanthiran, called for Devananda’s participation in Jaffna DDC proceedings.

Minister Devananda is the co-chairperson of the Kilinochchi DDC with Charles being the other, in her capacity as the Northern Province Governor.

Pointing out that EPDP leader Devananda had accused him of routinely bullying public servants; The Island asked lawmaker Ramanathan whether he accepted responsibility for the conduct of his coordinating officers. The Deputy Chairman of Committees said that the issue at hand was political. “Both of us represent the government though we entered Parliament from two different parties. We represent the Jaffna electoral district in spite of being co-chairpersons of Jaffna and Kilinochchi DDCs because the Jaffna electoral district consists of two administrative districts,” MP Ramanathan said.

Ramanathan first entered Parliament in 2015 when the UPFA accommodated him on its National List. Ramanathan successfully contested the Jaffna district on the SLFP ticket at the last general election in August 2020. He is the only SLFP MP in Parliament whereas the SLFP contested on the SLPP ticket and won 13 other seats.

The EPDP won two seats at the last general election.

Responding to another query, MP Ramanathan said that recently Minister Devananda wanted to organize an event for Samurdhi recipients in the Jaffna district. As Minister Devananda represented Kilinochchi DDC, he sought Jaffna DDC approval to conduct a programme in the Jaffna district, MP Ramanathan said.

Subsequently, Minister Devananda held his event at Nallur, the SLFPer said, alleging when he sought Kilinochchi DDC’s permission to conduct a similar event there he wasn’t permitted to do so.

Lawmaker Ramanathan said that a dispute between government members would be exploited by rival political parties. The last general election changed the political environment in the northern and eastern provinces, MP Ramanathan said, underscoring the pivotal importance in the government taking advantage of the ground situation to improve living standards of the people. “Unfortunately, various interested parties are causing unnecessary issues,” MP Ramanathan said.

The SLFP MP said that the country would have to do away with destructive communal politics. The significant national level victories achieved by the SLPP at the 2019 and 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections, respectively, should be strong platform for the government to go ahead with a countrywide development drive. Although the second Covid-19 eruption caused quite a disruption, the government could achieve a lot if petty party politics were discarded.

If those who had secured power at the 2013 Northern Provincial Council polls pursued a result-oriented strategy instead of playing politics, the Northern Province could have gained a lot, MP Ramanathan said. They squandered an opportunity to develop the Northern and Eastern Provinces in the wake of the end of the war in 2009, the MP said, urging all political parties to review their strategies.