Angajan Ramanathan (Tamil:அங்கஜன் இராமநாதன்,romanized: Aṅkajaṉ Irāmanātaṉ; born 9 July 1983) is aSri Lankan Tamil politician, former provincial councillor andMember of Parliament.^[1] He is the currentDeputy chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.^[2]

Ramanathan was born on 9 July 1983.^[1] Ramanathan's father Sathasivam Ramanathan is an associate ofBasil Rajapaksa, brother of formerPresidentMahinda Rajapaksa.^[3] Sathasivam Ramanathan is reputed to have made billions fromsmuggling abroad refugees from theSri Lankan Civil War and from government corruption.^[4][5] Sathasivam Ramanathan, who has extensive business interests in Sri Lanka and the U.K., was refused entry to the U.K. in 1993 due to his involvement in providing false documents to migrants entering the U.K. and theEuropean Union.^[6]

Ramanathan was educated atMahajana College, Tellippalai,S. Thomas' Preparatory School,Colombo International School and in Singapore.^[7][8] He hasbachelor's degree incomputer engineering andMBA from Australia.^[7][8]

Ramanathan is married to Prashanthini and has a child.^[8]

Ramanathan contested the2010 parliamentary election as one of theUnited People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA)electoral alliance's candidates inJaffna District but failed to get elected after coming 7th amongst the UPFA candidates.^[9] During the election campaign, on 31 March 2010, Ramanathan and supporters were attacked byEelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a government backed paramilitary group and a member of the UPFA.^[10] In retaliation, the following day supporters of Ramanathan shot atMayor of JaffnaYogeswari Patkunarajah, a member of the EPDP.^[11] In August 2010 Ramanathan was appointedSri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) organiser forJaffna District by President Rajapaksa.^[12]

Ramanathan contested the2013 provincial council election as one of the UPFA's candidates in Jaffna District and was elected to theNorthern Provincial Council.^[13][14] During the election campaign, on 27 August 2013, a violent clash took place between UPFA candidates inChavakachcheri during which Ramanathan's father Sathasivam Ramanathan opened fire on a group led A. Sarvananthan.^[15][16] Sathasivam Ramanathan was arrested and remanded forattempted murder.^[17][18][19] Also during the election campaign, a UPFA mob, including Ramanathan and his father, attackedTamil National Alliance candidate P. Thambirajah.^[20] The day before the election Ramanathan was still campaigning usingSMS, violating electoral law.^[21]

Ramanathan is alleged to have organised abductions and attacks on behalf of theRajapaksa family.^[22] Jaffna UPFA municipal councillor Suveeharan Nishanthan claims he was abducted and assaulted by Ramanathan and his father on 3 April 2013 inColombo.^[23]

Ramanathan contested the2015 parliamentary election as one of the UPFA's candidates in Jaffna District but the UPFA failed to win any seats in the district.^[24][25] However, after the election he was appointed to theParliament of Sri Lanka as aNational List MP representing the UPFA.^[26][27][28] During the election campaign Ramanathan's supporters attacked supporters of theUnited Socialist Party.^[29] He was appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture in June 2018.^[30][31][32] He lost his position at the start of the2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis in October 2018 but was reappointed a few days later in thenew government.^[33][34][35] He lost his position following the end of the crisis in December 2018.

Ramanathan contested the2020 parliamentary election as a SLFP candidate in Jaffna District and was re-elected.^[36][37][38] His victory was attributed to theUS$15,000 (Rs.2.7 million) he spent onFacebook advertising - the second highest of all candidates and ten times his nearest rival in Jaffna District,M. A. Sumanthiran - and the publicity provided by the private media network, consisting of the Capital FM radio station and the Capital News cable station, owned by his uncle S. Vincendrarajan.^[39][40]Ratnajeevan Hoole, one of the three members of theElection Commission of Sri Lanka, has accused Ramanathan of committing various violations of electoral law during the election campaign including using theJaffna Kachcheri for electoral purposes, passing off government donations for theCOVID-19 pandemic as his own, blocking public roads to hold election rallies and using Capital FM radio station and Capital News cable station, both owned by his uncle S. Vincendrarajan, for election propaganda.^[41][42][43]

After the election Ramanathan was appointed chairman of the Jaffna District Coordinating Committee (DDC).^[44][45] Ramanathan's first acts in his new role was to issue an order that all development activity in the district needs his approval and to appoint his father as his representative and co-ordinating officer in the DDC.^[46] He also took over three offices in the Jaffna District Secretariat rather than customary one room.^[47] Ramanathan was electedDeputy chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka unopposed when thenew parliament met on 20 August 2020.^[48][49]

• 1983 births
• Living people
• Alumni of Colombo International School
• Alumni of Mahajana College, Tellippalai
• Alumni of S. Thomas' Preparatory School, Kollupitiya
• Deputy chairmen of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
• Deputy ministers of Sri Lanka
• Sri Lankan Hindus
• Members of the 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka
• Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka
• Members of the Northern Provincial Council
• Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians
• Tamil politicians
• Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance politicians
• United People's Freedom Alliance politicians

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