Court action over alleged injustice to Sasikala over preferential votes

Shashikala in the centre and Angajan in the left corner

By Romesh Madushanka   

Former Northern Provincial Councillor M. K. Sivajilingam claimed that an injustice had been meted out to ITAK candidate for Jaffna District Sasikala Raviraj during the counting of preferential votes polled by the candidates of the party at the Wednesday’s general election and steps are being taken to obtain redress from courts.   

He made these remarks at a media briefing held soon after a discussion he held with Sasikala Raviraj and others. The SLFP candidate Angajan Ramanathan who had been elected from the Jaffna district had also joined the discussions.   

Sivajilingam said further that this election cannot be declared as held free and a fair one, because there was an inordinate delay in announcing the preferential votes of Jaffna, and only after ITAK spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran visited the centre the results were made known. Before his arrival Sasikala was in the second place, and therefore it is vital that we fight for justice by filing a court action seeking a recount or a formal inquiry, he said.   

In the meantime, a protest was held on Saturday against the alleged injustice caused to Sasikala Raviraj in the declaration of the preferential votes at the Thenmarachchi Divisional Secretariat in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna.   

The protest was held opposite the secretariat where a statue of Late Nadaraja Raviraj, Sasikala’s husband who was shot dead on November 10, 2006 in Colombo has been erected. The face of the statue had been covered in a black cloth and the body of it had been draped with a cloth in ITAK party colour and with the symbol of the party “House” printed on it, during the protest.