The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam

¶ 01 [2.23 p.m.]

¶ 02 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member, for the opportunity. I extend condolences to the families and friends of all late Members remembered today.

¶ 03 First, on the late Hon. (Prof.) Tissa Vitarana. He studied at Trinity College, as I did; I am proud to have attended the same school as someone who served this country so well. Since 1948, he viewed the Tamil national question from a progressive perspective, even before I entered politics.

¶ 04 He chaired the APRC. Although appointed by the then President without Tamil party representatives in its core, it produced very progressive ideas; the APRC Report was progressive. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to publish some contents of it. Had that Report been presented and its recommendations implemented, we might have found answers to unresolved issues today. From 2020 to 2024, I had the opportunity to serve with him in Parliament. As Hon. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam said, he did not fear speaking truth.

¶ 05 During Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s time, when Muslim janazahs were being cremated, he stated courageously in Parliament and publicly that it was wrong and not scientifically justified, and that burials were possible. Though on the Government National List, he criticized that policy and even sat at the back on the Government side. He was an honest politician.

¶ 06 Hon. Presiding Member, when we campaigned to repeal the PTA, Hon. M.A. Sumanthiran and I collected signatures across all 25 districts, including from party leaders. I had the privilege of visiting Prof. Vitarana’s home, where he warmly signed and emphasized the need to repeal the PTA as wrong and to move on from it. Even as a Government MP, he joined us in that effort.

¶ 07 Regarding Hon. Chandradhasa Galappaththi, I encountered him several times at the Eastern Provincial Council. It is a turbulent council, with Chief Ministers from SLFP then SLMC at different times while TNA held ministries. Even in such circumstances, he performed his duties effectively as Chairman.

¶ 08 Next, I must recall our senior Batticaloa MP, the late T. Kanagasabai. His family is in the gallery today; we met them. He represented Kaludaweli near Kaluwanchikudy and was elected in 2004. From the advent of the preferential vote system up to the 2024 General Election, the Batticaloa District record for the highest preferential votes belongs to him; in 2004 he set a record that subsequent elections did not surpass. He also publicly said 2004 would be his last election and kept his word—he never contested again. He was trilingual and, in the absence of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker or Deputy Chair, he ably presided from the Chair.

¶ 09 His services included upgrading Kaluwanchikudy Base Hospital to a Regional Hospital, working for a Faculty of Medicine in the East, securing Rs. 100 million via USAID for the Kaluwanchikudy Vocational Training Centre, and obtaining land for the Batticaloa Advanced Technological Institute. Most importantly, after 20 years without a new MRI scanner, he worked with then Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva to obtain one for Batticaloa Teaching Hospital through a formal ceremony.

¶ 10 Internationally, he trained in the US at age 29 and represented the ITAK in many countries including the UK, Switzerland, France, Geneva, the Netherlands, India and Norway. Before politics, as a senior officer in the Agriculture Department, he trained in the USA, Thailand, India and the Philippines.

¶ 11 When I decided to contest Parliament, I met him. He blessed me, saying Kaludaweli should support me as they had supported him. On a specific Teacher Training College issue, he read the documents within minutes, identified the problem, advised me whom to call and what to say, and we solved it accordingly—an example of his practical capacity to secure even international funding.

¶ 12 From 2004 to 2010, his six years as TNA MP for Batticaloa coincided with threats and abductions; his colleagues were targeted and some killed. At one budget, to prevent him voting against the Government, four of his relatives and associates were abducted. Traumatized, he withdrew from elections in 2010 and thereafter. He passed away at 86. We extend condolences to his wife, children and family.