Balasubramaniam Deniswaran (Tamil: பாலசுப்பிரமணியம் டெனிஸ்வரன்) is a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and former provincial minister.

B. Deniswaran
பா. டெனிஸ்வரன்
Minister of Fisheries, Transport, Trade and Rural Development, Northern Province
In office
11 October 2013 – 23 August 2017
Succeeded byK. Sivanesan
Member of the Northern Provincial Council for Mannar District
Assumed office
11 October 2013
Personal details
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partyTamil Eelam Liberation Organization
Other political
affiliations
Tamil National Alliance
ProfessionLawyer
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil

Career

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Deniswaran is lawyer.[1] He contested the 2013 provincial council election as one of the Tamil National Alliance's candidates in Mannar District and was elected to the Northern Provincial Council.[2][3] After the election he was appointed Minister of Fisheries, Transport, Trade and Rural Development.[4][5] He took his oath as minister and provincial councillor in front of Chief Minister C. V. Vigneswaran at Veerasingam Hall on 11 October 2013.[6][7]

Dismissal

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Starting in late 2016, several charges of irregular practices were levelled against the four provincial ministers for Northern Province.[8] 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.[9][10] In June 2017 the NPC was plunged into chaos after Chief Minister Vigneswaran asked P. Ayngaranesan and 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.[11][12] Vigneswaran also requested that the two other ministers, Deniswaran and P. Sathiyalingam, who had been exonerated by the committee, to go on leave.[13][14]

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.[15][16] This resulted in the Tamil People's Council, led by Vigneswaran, organising hartals across Northern Province in support of Vigneswaran.[17][18] 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.[19][20][21] The central committee of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization met on 20 August 2017 and suspended Deniswaran from the party for six months.[22][23] He was removed from his ministerial position on 23 August 2017.[24][25] Deniswaran has however written to Cooray, challenging the legality of the removal.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Mannar Bar Association elects new president". TamilNet. 18 March 2006.
  2. ^ "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. 25 September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2013.
  3. ^ "PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2013 – Results and preferential votes: Northern Province". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 26 September 2013.
  4. ^ "ITAK announces NPC ministers, EPRLF challenges". TamilNet. 10 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Sri Lanka's first Tamil CM announces Cabinet". The New Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  6. ^ "NPC members take oath in Jaffna after honouring fallen Tamil Heroes". TamilNet. 11 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Northern Provincial Council TNA members take oaths". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 11 October 2013. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013.
  8. ^ Balachandran, P. K. (14 June 2017). "Charges against Northern Province Ministers signal shift in Sri Lankan Tamil politics". NewsIn.Asia. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ Thangarasa, Sumithi (14 June 2017). "Wigneswaran calls for the resignation of two Provincial Ministers". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  13. ^ Srinivasan, Meera (15 June 2017). "'No confidence' in CM Wigneswaran". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  14. ^ Kamalendran, Chris (18 June 2017). "TNA, Wigneswaran in battle for North". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  15. ^ Thangarasa, Sumithi (15 June 2017). "No Confidence Motion against Wigneswaran". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  16. ^ "21 Northern Provincial councillors declare no-confidence in Chief Minister". Tamil Guardian. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Hartal in Jaffna in protest of attempts to oust Chief Minister Wigneswaran". Tamil Guardian. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  18. ^ Imtiaz, Zahrah (17 June 2017). "Confidence on Wiggie: TNA split". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  19. ^ Srinivasan, Meera (19 June 2017). "Uncertainty ends in Sri Lanka's Northern Province". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  20. ^ "NPC cools down". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ Jayarathna, Rishini (22 August 2017). "TELO Suspends Deniswaran". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  23. ^ "B. Deniswarans' party membership suspended". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  24. ^ "Deneeswaran removed from Cabinet". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  25. ^ Thambiah, Mirudhula (24 August 2017). "NPC appoints new Ministers". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  26. ^ Rajasingham, K. T. (23 August 2017). "Two New Ministers Sworn In, Despite Deniswaran Threat Of Legal Action Against The Governor". Asian Tribune. Retrieved 27 August 2017.