Comrade SK Senthivel, General Secretary of the New-Democratic issued the following statement on behalf of the Party on the passing away of SD Bandaranayake former MP for Gampaha. Former Member of Parliament SD Bandaranayake who was a voice of democratic and progressive forces in Sri Lanka and an upholder of positions supportive of the left passed away on 3rd June 2014 at the age of 98 years. The news of his departure saddens the democratic, progressive and left forces and toiling masses of Sri Lanka. SD Bandaranayake who was elected to parliament in 1956 remained a consistent democratic progressive, a supporter of the left, and a courageous activist inside and outside parliament. When members of the UNP led by JR Jayawardane went on a march to Kandy in 1957 to oppose the Bandaranayake-Chelvanayakam Pact, claiming that the agreement designed to grant Tamils their rights was a secessionist move, SD Bandaranayake took the initiative to mobilize people to obstruct the march at Imbulgoda on the Colombo-Kandy road in the Gampaha electorate and force the UNP to retreat to Colombo. SD Bandaranayake himself lay across the road as an act of protest. During the struggles in the North in the 1960s against caste oppression and untouchability, SD Bandaranayake spoke in support of the struggles in parliament as well as visited the North to personally express solidarity with the struggling masses. At the time, during a parliamentary debate he dared to quote Lenin that parliament was a den of thieves” and declare that the “the Parliament of Ceylon too was a den of thieves. As a result he was forcefully removed from the House of Representatives and suspended from parliament for two weeks. He always supported the people and their just struggles. As a result he was arrested in 1971 and detained for more than two years. He spoke firmly in support of granting the Tamil people their just rights and campaigned for the rights of workers, peasants and plantation workers. As a result of his above political stand, he was a long standing friend of the Party who continued to maintain his bond with the Party. In a context in which racism and religious fanaticism are wreaking havoc in the south of the Country, his departure is a loss that very much saddens the
Comrade SK Senthivel, General Secretary of the New-Democratic issued the following statement on behalf of the Party on the passing away of SD Bandaranayake former MP for Gampaha. Former Member of Parliament SD Bandaranayake who was a voice of democratic and progressive forces in Sri Lanka and an upholder of positions supportive of the left passed away on 3rd June 2014 at the age of 98 years. The news of his departure saddens the democratic, progressive and left forces and toiling masses of Sri Lanka. SD Bandaranayake who was elected to parliament in 1956 remained a consistent democratic progressive, a supporter of the left, and a courageous activist inside and outside parliament. When members of the UNP led by JR Jayawardane went on a march to Kandy in 1957 to oppose the Bandaranayake-Chelvanayakam Pact, claiming that the agreement designed to grant Tamils their rights was a secessionist move, SD Bandaranayake took the initiative to mobilize people to obstruct the march at Imbulgoda on the Colombo-Kandy road in the Gampaha electorate and force the UNP to retreat to Colombo. SD Bandaranayake himself lay across the road as an act of protest. During the struggles in the North in the 1960s against caste oppression and untouchability, SD Bandaranayake spoke in support of the struggles in parliament as well as visited the North to personally express solidarity with the struggling masses. At the time, during a parliamentary debate he dared to quote Lenin that “the parliament was a den of thieves” and declare that the Parliament of Ceylon too was a den of thieves. As a result he was forcefully removed from the House of Representatives and suspended from parliament for two weeks. He always supported the people and their just struggles. As a result he was arrested in 1971 and detained for more than two years. He spoke firmly in support of granting the Tamil people their just rights and campaigned for the rights of workers, peasants and plantation workers. As a result of his above political stand, he was a long standing friend of the Party who continued to maintain his bond with the Party. In a context in which racism and religious fanaticism are wreaking havoc in the south of the Country, his departure is a loss that very much saddens the
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