Ponnudurai Ayngaranesan (Tamil: பொன்னுத்துரை ஐங்கரநேசன், romanized: Poṉṉutturai Aiṅkaranēcaṉ) is a Sri Lankan Tamil environmentalist, politician and former provincial minister.
P. Ayngaranesan | |
|---|---|
பி. ஐங்கரநேசன் | |
 Ayngaranesan in March 2017 | |
| Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Irrigation and Environment, Northern Province | |
| In office 11 October 2013 – 15 June 2017 | |
| Succeeded by | C. V. Vigneswaran |
| Member of the Northern Provincial Council for Jaffna District | |
| Assumed office 11 October 2013 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1958 (age 65–66) |
| Political party | Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front |
| Other political affiliations | Tamil National Alliance |
| Alma mater | Madras Christian College |
| Ethnicity | Sri Lankan Tamil |
Early life and family
editAyngaranesan was born in 1958 and educated at Jaffna Hindu College and Madras Christian College.[1]
Career
editAyngaranesan was director of the Universal Science Centre in Kantharmadam.[1][2] He is an environmentalist.[3]
Ayngaranesan contested the 2013 provincial council election as one of the Tamil National Alliance's candidates in Jaffna District and was elected to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).[4][5] After the election he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Irrigation and Environment.[6][7] He took his oath as minister and provincial councillor in front of Chief Minister C. V. Vigneswaran at Veerasingam Hall on 11 October 2013.[8][9]
Resignation
editStarting in late 2016, several charges of irregular practices were levelled against the four provincial ministers for Northern Province.[10] Chief Minister Vigneswaran appointed a three-member committee consisting of retired judge S. Thiyakenthiran (chair), retired judge S. Paramarajah and retired District Secretary S. Patmanathan to investigate the charges.[11][12] In June 2017 the NPC was plunged into chaos after Chief Minister Vigneswaran asked Ayngaranesan and fellow minister T. Kurukularajah to resign after the three-member committee found evidence to substantiate charges of corruption, abuse of power and misuse of funds levelled against the two ministers.[13][14] Ayngaranesan had been accused of malpractice in connection with renovation of agricultural wells and other irrigation activities.[15] Vigneswaran also requested that the two other ministers, B. Deniswaran and P. Sathiyalingam, who had been exonerated by the committee, to go on leave.[16][17]
On 14 June 2017 a motion of no confidence against Vigneswaran was handed to Governor Reginald Cooray by several ITAK and opposition members of the NPC.[18][19] This resulted in the Tamil People's Council, led by Vigneswaran, organising hartals across Northern Province in support of Vigneswaran.[20][21] Ayngaranesan denied the charges but resigned as minister on 15 June 2017, submitting his resignation to Vigneswaran.[22][23] He was succeeded by Vigneswaran as minister.[24]
Following mediation by religious leaders a compromise was agreed between Vigneswaran and the ITAK/TNA leadership on 19 June 2017 whereby Vigneswaran would withdraw the request for Deniswaran and Sathiyalingam to go on leave and in return ITAK would withdraw the motion of no confidence against Vigneswaran.[25][26][27]
References
edit- ^ a b "Hindu old boys P.Ayngaranesan and B.Gajatheepan elected to NPC". jaffnahindu.org. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ "Tutorial colleges burnt down in Jaffna". TamilNet. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (5 October 2013). "TNA's Tussle Over Provincial Ministry Posts in North". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PROVINCIAL COUNCILS ELECTIONS ACT, No. 2 OF 1988 Northern Province Provincial Council" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1829/33. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 25 September 2013.
- ^ "PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2013 – Results and preferential votes: Northern Province". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
- ^ "ITAK announces NPC ministers, EPRLF challenges". TamilNet. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ "Sri Lanka's first Tamil CM announces Cabinet". The New Indian Express/Press Trust of India. Chennai, India. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "NPC members take oath in Jaffna after honouring fallen Tamil Heroes". TamilNet. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "Northern Provincial Council TNA members take oaths". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 11 October 2013. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013.
- ^ Balachandran, P. K. (14 June 2017). "Charges against Northern Province Ministers signal shift in Sri Lankan Tamil politics". NewsIn.Asia. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Ayub, M. S. M. (16 June 2017). "Wigneswaran 's anti-corruption drive eclipsed by sectarian politics". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "Heads to Roll at NPC?". The Nation. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 10 June 2017. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "No confidence motion against Sri Lanka's Northern province CM". The New Indian Express/Press Trust of India. Chennai, India. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Thangarasa, Sumithi (14 June 2017). "Wigneswaran calls for the resignation of two Provincial Ministers". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Palakidnar, Ananth (13 June 2017). "Fresh crisis rocks NPC Call for removal of two Ministers". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Srinivasan, Meera (15 June 2017). "'No confidence' in CM Wigneswaran". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Kamalendran, Chris (18 June 2017). "TNA, Wigneswaran in battle for North". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Thangarasa, Sumithi (15 June 2017). "No Confidence Motion against Wigneswaran". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "21 Northern Provincial councillors declare no-confidence in Chief Minister". Tamil Guardian. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "Hartal in Jaffna in protest of attempts to oust Chief Minister Wigneswaran". Tamil Guardian. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Imtiaz, Zahrah (17 June 2017). "Confidence on Wiggie: TNA split". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Thambiah, Mirudhula (18 June 2017). "Turmoil in the NPC Fresh hearing for two Ministers". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ "Minister Ainkaranesan Resigns". Tamil Diplomat. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ "Northern Province CM Justice C.V.Wigneswaran was sworn in as Acting Minister for the sectors of Education and Agriculture". Jaffna, Sri Lanka: Northern Provincial Council. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Srinivasan, Meera (19 June 2017). "Uncertainty ends in Sri Lanka's Northern Province". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "NPC cools down". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Imtiaz, Zahrah (20 June 2017). "ITAK withdraws petition of no-confidence Wiggie and Sam call it even". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
External links
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