No, the MP Who Paid Tribute to a Former LTTE Member in Parliament Is Not from the Ruling Party!

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When a video of a parliamentary speech honouring a former LTTE commander began circulating on social media, claims quickly spread that a member of the current ruling party had paid tribute to an LTTE member in Parliament. The video sparked intense debate. 

However, our investigation revealed that the claim was completely misleading and that the MP in question was not a member of the current ruling party.

Social Media Posts:

A video circulated on social media with the misleading framing that a member of the current ruling government had paid tribute in Parliament to a former LTTE figure, indicating this was an act carried out by the party in power.

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The same video similarly circulated in the following forms:

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We investigated the claim.

Fact-Check :

A preliminary review of the Sri Lanka Parliament’s official YouTube channel confirmed that the statement was made on 21 May 2026 by MP Thurairasa Ravikaran. The MP addressed the Parliament for approximately seven minutes. In the opening portion of his speech, he stated:

“It has been 18 years since Brigadier Balraj, a hero of our Eelam liberation effort, departed from us. This battlefield hero, born in Kokuttoduvai, Mullaitivu District, under his true name Kalliyaa Balasegaran was admired even by international military experts. I pay my tribute to him in this assembly.”

The MP then went on to raise concerns about large-scale deforestation near the University of Vavuniya and issues related to rice importation. His full statement can be accessed below.

MP Thurairasa Ravikaran Represents the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK)

Tamil media furthermore reported on MP Thurairasa Ravikaran’s parliamentary tribute to Brigadier Balraj on 21 May 2026. Those reports clearly recognized him as an ITAK parliamentarian, not a government MP. As one outlet reported:

“ITAK MP Thurairasa Ravikaran paid tribute to former LTTE Military Commander Brigadier Balraj and similarly raised issues regarding state-sanctioned deforestation in the Vanni region and government policies affecting local paddy farmers.”

Further details are available here.

To independently confirm which party Thurairasa Ravikaran represents, we checked the official Sri Lanka Parliament website. This confirmed that he is not a member of the ruling party and an MP representing the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), as verified here.

We further checked the official website of the Parliament of Sri Lanka  to confirm which political party MP Thurairasa Ravikaran represents, and it was moreover confirmed that MP Thurairasa Ravikaran is not a member of parliament representing the current government and a member of parliament representing the Ilangai Tamil Arasu Party.

ITAK MP Thurairasa Ravikaran Has Never Expressed Support for the Ruling NPP Government

A review of MP Ravikaran’s parliamentary record shows a consistent pattern of opposition to the NPP government, not alignment with it.

In April 2025, he publicly condemned Gazette Notification 2430 (dated 28 March 2025) issued by the NPP government, which he stated targeted 5,941 acres of Tamil-owned land in the Northern Province for state acquisition. The government subsequently revoked the gazette notification.

In March 2026, Ravikaran refused to accept fuel allocations via the Sri Lanka Army under a parliamentary fuel distribution scheme, stating that he would not accept services through a military institution he holds responsible for enforced disappearances of Tamil people. He formally notified the Secretary General of Parliament of this decision.

These actions demonstrate that MP Ravikaran consistently holds an anti-NPP position and that there is no evidence of him supporting any policy or action of the ruling party.

National People’s Power (NPP)

Given that the circulating video was framed as evidence of a government MP paying tribute to an LTTE figure, we also contacted the NPP’s media division directly for clarification. They confirmed that Thurairasa Ravikaran is not a member of the NPP or the ruling government. They further confirmed that he represents the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK).

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Conclusion :

Our investigation confirms that the video circulating on social media, framed to suggest that a member of the current ruling government paid tribute to a former LTTE figure in Parliament, is misleading. 

The statement was made by ITAK MP Thurairasa Ravikaran, who represents the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, an opposition party. He is not a member of the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) government. This was confirmed by the Parliament’s official records, Tamil mainstream media coverage, and the NPP’s own media division.