Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan, M.P.
Profession: ---
Speeches 129 #33 of 225·#2 in party
Attendance 7/8 days present (of recorded)
Top topic Ethnic Reconciliation & Devolution 48 speeches
Last spoke 9 June 2026 in Debate
Activity by sitting
60 sittings · counts only, no scoring.
Topic focus
AI summary AI-assigned tags, 1–3 per speech. Counts only — not a score.
Speech history
129 speeches- 6 August 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan raised a question under Standing Order 27(2) regarding the 2020 Gazette declaring areas under 13 Pradeshiya Sabhas in Jaffna District as Urban Development Areas under the Urban Development Authority Law. He asked whether the Minister was aware that this transfer of regulatory functions to the UDA had affected local authority powers and imposed UDA fees for permits and approvals, causing inconvenience to residents. He also questioned the impact on village livelihoods, particularly small and medium cottage industries being treated as commercial enterprises requiring additional permissions. Oral Question (Standing Order 27(2)): Review of Policies in the Leasing Sector Land & HousingInfrastructure Read →
- 5 August 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan stated that he would support the motion to remove IGP Deshbandu Tennakoon, linking it to concerns over police brutality, torture, judicial independence and equality before the law. He recounted his own detention and alleged torture in 1998 and criticised abuses under the PTA and by police and security authorities against Tamils. He also raised the Chemmani mass graves and the Krishanthi Kumaraswamy case, submitting related newspaper and letter material, and called for an international inquiry, including facilitating testimony by Somaratna Rajapakshe. Debate: Resolution to Remove Inspector-General of Police T.M.W. Deshabandu Tennakoon Ethnic Reconciliation & DevolutionJustice & Human RightsLaw & Order Read →
- 5 August 2025 AI summary Sivagnanam Shritharan raised a procedural objection, asking the Chair to ensure order in the House before recognizing Members to speak. He complained that he had been waiting since the morning and that speaking opportunities due to the Opposition had been given to the Government side, requesting protection of his full seven-minute allocation. Debate: Resolution to Remove Inspector-General of Police T.M.W. Deshabandu Tennakoon Parliamentary Procedure Read →
- 5 August 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan objected to being denied the opportunity to ask a second supplementary question. He appealed to the Speaker to allow him the same opportunity given to others. Ministerial Statement: Medical Faculty Suspension at Kotelawala Defence University Parliamentary Procedure Read →
- 5 August 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan raised a point of order. No substantive issue, proposal, or argument is recorded in the provided excerpt. Ministerial Statement: Medical Faculty Suspension at Kotelawala Defence University Parliamentary Procedure Read →
- 5 August 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan raised concerns about farmers in multiple producing villages across Jaffna and the Northern Province engaged in subsidiary food production, including small onions and other crops. He said the absence of import duties during harvest periods over the past two years had caused severe losses, particularly for small onion producers and new farmers, and asked what relief the Government would provide amid wider impacts from fisheries issues, agriculture problems, and floods. Ministerial Statements: Trade and Commerce Issues in Jaffna District AgriculturePublic Finance Read →
- 23 July 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan used the Companies (Amendment) Bill debate to mark 42 years since Black July, alleging the absence of accountability for anti-Tamil violence, prison killings, disappearances and mass graves, and referring to past reports and commissions that he said had not led to justice. He urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Government, with its parliamentary majority, to use the opportunity to pursue reconciliation by acknowledging past wrongs, addressing military occupation of Tamil memorial sites, and providing guarantees for Tamils to live with sovereignty in the North and East. He also questioned why Easter Sunday-related investigations focused on Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan while not questioning former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and others, and tabled a 2019 Reuters report. Debate: Companies (Amendment) Bill – Second Reading Security & DefenceJustice & Human RightsEthnic Reconciliation & Devolution Read →
- 23 July 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan raised a procedural concern that several of his questions submitted under Standing Order 27(2), including one from 05.02.2025, had not been answered despite ministerial undertakings. He cited four pending questions directed to Ministers K.D. Lal Kantha, Harsha Nanayakkara, Wasantha Samarasinghe, and Bimal Rathnayake, including a repeatedly deferred question on onions, and requested that the matter be addressed. Procedural: Standing Order 27(2) – Kankesanthurai Port Renovation Delay Parliamentary Procedure Read →
- 23 July 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan raised a Standing Order 27(2) question on delays in rehabilitating Kankesanthurai Port, noting its historical role and potential to expand trade with India, tourism, exports and foreign exchange for the Northern and Eastern Provinces. He asked why work has not begun despite a reported US$65 million Indian grant and a completed Environmental Impact Assessment, and whether inter-departmental issues over environmental approvals are causing the delay. He sought details on government plans for the port, the expected commencement and completion dates of rehabilitation, and the timeline for starting shipping services. Procedural: Standing Order 27(2) – Kankesanthurai Port Renovation Delay Foreign AffairsInfrastructure Read →
- 9 July 2025 AI summary Sivagnanam Shritharan raised concerns about farmers in Achchuveli and Puthumaththani, noting that supplementary crops are vital to Jaffna’s economy. He asked the Minister to include immediate import-duty measures in an upcoming Friday response, stating that shipments of local produce to the south have fallen from about 40 lorries a day to less than one. Questions under Standing Order 27(2): Paddy Purchase, Rice Import, Horticultural Crops; Question of Privilege Public FinanceAgriculture Read →
- 9 July 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan raised, under Standing Order 27(2), concerns over declining up-country and horticultural cultivation in Jaffna District, citing climate impacts, disease, high labour and input costs, lack of seed potato supply, and depressed prices for small red onions. He questioned the Government’s failure to impose harvest-time import duties on small onions for the past three years, asked for compensation for farmers affected by continuous rains and crop losses, and sought measures on disease control, soil and water testing, and introduction of quality seed varieties. He also asked how the Government would verify heavy metals in imported onions and why a 10:1 culling ratio is applied only to Northern Province produce while not applied to Dambulla or imported onions. Questions under Standing Order 27(2): Paddy Purchase, Rice Import, Horticultural Crops; Question of Privilege Cost of LivingAgriculture Read →
- 17 June 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan requested additional speaking time for the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, noting that it is the third largest party in Parliament with eight MPs. He said the party did not walk out and wanted to place on record longstanding issues affecting its constituents, including the unresolved national question and the consequences of decades of war. Debate: Convention Against Doping in Sports Regulations Parliamentary Procedure Read →
- 17 June 2025 AI summary Allegations were raised that the army detained, assaulted, and buried individuals, with the Member stating that sufficient evidence exists. He questioned where complaints against army actions can be lodged and called for investigations into the matter. Question by Private Notice: Chemmani Cemetery and Related Issues (Q.27(2)) Justice & Human RightsLaw & OrderSecurity & Defence Read →
- 17 June 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan alleged that Douglas Devananda is implicated in 60 murders and urged the authorities to expedite investigations into persons taken from Allaipitty, Mandaitivu and Mankumban, as well as related mass graves. He asked what action the Government would take on these matters. Question by Private Notice: Chemmani Cemetery and Related Issues (Q.27(2)) Law & OrderJustice & Human Rights Read →
- 17 June 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan referred to JMO findings that unclothed remains of infants, children, women and men showed signs of torture, alleging these were crimes committed under previous governments and that further remains may exist near former torture sites. Citing Mandaitivu, the area near St. Thomas’ Church, and the NESHOR report “Footprints in the Sand,” he said youths taken in 1990 from Mandaitivu, Allaipitty and Mankumban were detained and disappeared. He called for an investigation into Douglas Devananda, alleging his complicity through his then association with EPRLF/EPDP paramilitary activity. Question by Private Notice: Chemmani Cemetery and Related Issues (Q.27(2)) Justice & Human RightsLaw & Order Read →
- 17 June 2025 AI summary Sivagnanam Shritharan requested permission to restate his questions, explaining that interruptions had prevented him from properly presenting them earlier. Question by Private Notice: Chemmani Cemetery and Related Issues (Q.27(2)) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
- 17 June 2025 AI summary Sivagnanam Shritharan raised questions under Standing Order 27(2) to the Minister of Justice and National Integration regarding mass graves and disappeared persons in the North and East linked to the armed conflict. He asked whether the Government acknowledges the existence of these sites and called for impartial investigations into skeletal remains found at Chemmani/Sinnaththoppu, Kokkuthoduvai, Mandaitivu, and Thiruketheeswaram. He also sought specific responses on the status of excavations and judicial action, and on appeals from families, including a mother seeking answers about two children who disappeared in Mandaitivu. Question by Private Notice: Chemmani Cemetery and Related Issues (Q.27(2)) Justice & Human RightsEthnic Reconciliation & Devolution Read →
- 17 June 2025 AI summary Sivagnanam Shritharan informed the House that he was unable to speak due to noise in the Chamber. No substantive policy issue, proposal, or question was raised. Question by Private Notice: Chemmani Cemetery and Related Issues (Q.27(2)) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
- 6 June 2025 AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan paid tribute to former MP and ITAK leader Mavai S. Senathirajah, highlighting his education, early involvement in the TULF and Tamil national movement, participation in the 1961 satyagraha, periods of detention, and parliamentary service from 1989 onward. He said Senathirajah worked for Tamil rights domestically and internationally, supported post-war peace efforts, strengthened ITAK in Kilinochchi, and promoted youth and women’s participation. He also recalled attacks and assaults Senathirajah survived during the conflict period and conveyed condolences to his family and the families of the other former MPs named in the Votes of Condolence. Debate: Votes of Condolence for Four Former MPs Ethnic Reconciliation & DevolutionJustice & Human Rights Read →
- 3 June 2025 AI summary Sivagnanam Shritharan asked for a timeframe for completing the procedures to make the German Technical Training Institute an autonomous institution. Private Notice Question: Sri Lanka-German Technical Training Institute Autonomous Status Education Read →