T. Kurukularajah

Thambirajah Kurukularajah (Tamil: தம்பிராசா குருகுலராஜா, romanized: Tampirācā Kurukularājā) is a Sri Lankan Tamil civil servant, politician and former provincial minister.

Honourable
T. Kurukularajah
MPC
தி. குருகுலராஜா
Kurukularajah in March 2015
Minister of Education, Cultural Affairs and Sports, Northern Province
In office
11 October 2013 – 20 June 2017
Succeeded byC. V. Vigneswaran
Member of the Northern Provincial Council for Kilinochchi District
Assumed office
11 October 2013
Personal details
Political partyIllankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi
Other political
affiliations		Tamil National Alliance
ProfessionCivil servant
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil

Early life and family

Kurukularajah is the son of Rev. A. C. Thambirajah, a protestant pastor and founder of the Navajeevanam project in Paranthan.[1]

Career

Kurukularajah was director of education for the Kilinochchi Education Zone.[2][3]

Kurukularajah contested the 2013 provincial council election as one of the Tamil National Alliance's (TNA) candidates in Kilinochchi District and was elected to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).[4][5] After the election he was appointed Minister of Education, Cultural Affairs and Sports.[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

Starting 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 Kurukularajah and fellow minister P. Ayngaranesan 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] Kurukularajah had been accused of irregular transfer of teachers by overruling the ministry secretary and causing the deterioration of the standard of education in the province.[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]

Kurukularajah denied the charges but decided to temporarily step down as minister on 13 June 2017, conveying his resignation to his party, the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK).[18] However, ITAK leader Mavai Senathirajah refused to accept Kurukularajah's resignation.[19][20] 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.[21][22] This resulted in the Tamil People's Council, led by Vigneswaran, organising hartals across Northern Province in support of Vigneswaran.[23][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] Kurukularajah resigned on 20 June 2017 and was temporarily succeeded by Vigneswaran.[28][29]

References
  1. 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.
  2. "Monsoon rains imminent; Govt. officials struggle with refugees". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 12 October 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  3. "26,000 students displaced". BBC Sinhala. 12 October 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  4. "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. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 1829/33. 25 September 2013.
  5. "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.
  6. "ITAK announces NPC ministers, EPRLF challenges". TamilNet. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  7. "Sri Lanka's first Tamil CM announces Cabinet". The New Indian Express/Press Trust of India. Chennai, India. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  8. "NPC members take oath in Jaffna after honouring fallen Tamil Heroes". TamilNet. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  9. "Northern Provincial Council TNA members take oaths". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 11 October 2013. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013.
  10. Balachandran, P. K. (14 June 2017). "Charges against Northern Province Ministers signal shift in Sri Lankan Tamil politics". NewsIn.Asia. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  11. 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.
  12. "Heads to Roll at NPC?". The Nation. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  13. "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.
  14. Thangarasa, Sumithi (14 June 2017). "Wigneswaran calls for the resignation of two Provincial Ministers". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  15. Palakidnar, Ananth (13 June 2017). "Fresh crisis rocks NPC Call for removal of two Ministers". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  16. Srinivasan, Meera (15 June 2017). "'No confidence' in CM Wigneswaran". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  17. Kamalendran, Chris (18 June 2017). "TNA, Wigneswaran in battle for North". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  18. "NPC minister resigns to facilitate corruption probe against him". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  19. Nafeel, Nushka (13 June 2017). "Mavai refuses to accept resignation letter of NPC minister". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  20. Suriyaarachchi, Binoy (12 June 2017). "ITAK refuses to accept Kurukularaja's resignation?". Ada Derana. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  21. Thangarasa, Sumithi (15 June 2017). "No Confidence Motion against Wigneswaran". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  22. "21 Northern Provincial councillors declare no-confidence in Chief Minister". Tamil Guardian. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  23. "Hartal in Jaffna in protest of attempts to oust Chief Minister Wigneswaran". Tamil Guardian. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  24. Imtiaz, Zahrah (17 June 2017). "Confidence on Wiggie: TNA split". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  25. Srinivasan, Meera (19 June 2017). "Uncertainty ends in Sri Lanka's Northern Province". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  26. "NPC cools down". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  27. 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.
  28. "Two NPC ministers found guilty resign". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  29. "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.
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