Hon. (Mrs.) Anushka Thilakarathne, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, on behalf of Kotmale in Nuwara Eliya District, I express condolences regarding late Hon. Wijayasundara Bandara Ranatunga.

¶ 02 Kotmale is a difficult electorate in a difficult district. In 1989, under the guidance of Hon. Gamini Dissanayake, Hon. Ranatunga entered Parliament from this challenging seat and rendered significant service thereafter. As noted earlier, he pursued politics in a very difficult area, and was elected with great effort.

¶ 03 From what we have learned from people and his family, he was modest and honest, even sacrificing his assets for politics. Born in 1950 to Punchibanda Ranatunga and Vijayasuundara Manike, he studied at his village school and at Dharmaraja College, Kandy — a long and difficult commute from Kotmale — before entering politics. He is survived by his wife, Nilmini Sandhya Kumari Kotakadeniya, and two sons. On behalf of Kotmale, I extend condolences to his family.

¶ 04 Kotmale today hosts one of Sri Lanka’s major apparel factories, established alongside the Mahaweli Programme under Hon. Gamini Dissanayake, to which Hon. Ranatunga contributed. He also helped bring electrification and rehabilitate canal systems. Throughout, he maintained an unblemished name.

¶ 05 I also extend condolences to the families of Hon. P. Dayaratna, Hon. Gamini Lokuge, Hon. Indradasa Hettiarachchi and Hon. M.H. Sehu Iszadeen, praying that, according to their faiths, they attain blessed repose.