Vijayakala Maheswaran

Vijayakala Maheswaran, MP (Tamil: விஜயகலா மகேசுவரன்; born 23 November 1972) is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician. A Member of Parliament from the Jaffna District, she is the current State Minister for Education and is a former State Minister of Child Affairs and Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs.

Hon.

Vijayakala Maheswaran

MP
விஜயகலா மகேசுவரன்
State Minister of Education
In office
21 December 2018 – To date
State Minister of Child Affairs
In office
9 September 2015 – 5 July 2018
Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs
In office
12 January 2015 – 17 August 2015
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament
for Jaffna District
Assumed office
8 April 2010
Personal details
Born (1972-11-23) 23 November 1972
Karainagar Jaffna
Political partyUnited National Party
Other political
affiliations		United National Front for Good Governance
Spouse(s)T. Maheswaran
ChildrenBavatharani(Daughter) Biranavan(Son) Bavithra(Daughter)
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil

Early life and family

Maheswaran was born on 23 November 1972.[1] She is the daughter of Markandu from the village of Kalapoomy on the island of Karainagar in northern Sri Lanka.[2] She was educated at Dr. A. Thiyagarajah Madhya Maha Vidyalayam (Karainagar Hindu College).[2][3]

Maheswaran married T. Maheswaran, who was a Member of Parliament assassinated by the Eelam People's Democratic Party, a government backed paramilitary group, in January 2008.[4][5] They have three children, two daughters and one son.[2]

Political career

She entered politics after the assassination of her husband. Maheswaran contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the United National Front's candidates in Jaffna District and was elected to Parliament.[6] After the 2015 presidential election she was appointed Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs by newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena.[7][8]

Maheswaran was one of the United National Front for Good Governance’s candidates in Jaffna District at the 2015 parliamentary election. She was elected and re-entered Parliament.[9][10][11] She was sworn in as State Minister of Child Affairs on 9 September 2015.[12][13][14]

Controversies

Resurrection of the LTTE

She was arrested by the organized crimes division on her controversial statement, but on the same day she was released on an unconditional bail.

Statement on resurrecting the LTTE

In June 2018, while addressing a public event in Jaffna recently, Vijayakala said the LTTE should be resurrected to ensure the freedom of Tamil people in the Northern Province. This statement generate huge backlash. Members of the Parliament in Sri Lanka of the Government and the Opposition pushed for Mrs Maheswaran's removal following the statement. Some media reported that due to pressure from his own party Prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe also requested President to temporarily remove State Minister Vijayakala from her ministerial portfolio until inquiries are completed. On 5 July, she resigned from the portfolio.[15][16][17][18]

The Attorney General had instructed the Inspector General of Police in September 2018 to take legal action under Section 120 of the Penal Code against Vijayakala Maheswaran on the statements she had made.[19]

Electoral history
Electoral history of Vijayakala Maheswaran
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
2010 parliamentary[6]Jaffna DistrictUNF7,160Elected
2015 parliamentary[20]Jaffna DistrictUNFGG13,071Elected

References
  1. "Directory of Members: Vijayakala Maheswaran". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  2. "தரும பூஷணம் தியாகராஜா மகேஸ்வரன்". p. 25.
  3. "New faces in Parliament" (PDF). The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 18 April 2010.
  4. Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (16 March 2008). "Assassinating Tamil Parliamentarians: The unceasing waves". The Nation (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2015-01-18.
  5. "Maheswaran MP assassinated in Colombo". TamilNet. 1 January 2008.
  6. "Parliamentary General Election - 2010 Jaffna Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-13. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  7. "New Cabinet ministers sworn in". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 12 January 2015.
  8. "New Cabinet takes oaths". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 12 January 2015. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  9. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT, No. 1 OF 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1928/03. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  10. "Ranil tops with over 500,000 votes in Colombo". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015.
  11. "Preferential Votes". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 20 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  12. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1932/69. 18 September 2015.
  13. "New State and Deputy Ministers". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 9 September 2015.
  14. "State and Deputy Ministers take oaths (Updated Full List)". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 9 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  15. "Vijayakala Decides To Resign From Ministerial Post Before Removal".
  16. "PM asks President to temporarily remove Vijayakala Maheswaran". www.adaderana.lk.
  17. "Vijayakala Maheswaran resigns from Ministerial portfolio".
  18. "State Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran tenders resignation". www.adaderana.lk.
  19. AG instructs IGP to take legal action against Maheshwaran
  20. Jayakody, Pradeep (28 August 2015). "The Comparison of Preferential Votes in 2015 & 2010". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
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