Palitha Kumara Thewarapperuma (born 3 May 1960) is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n politician, a former member of the

Parliament of Sri Lanka The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

. He belongs to the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

. He was given the position of Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Wayamba Development and Cultural Affairs in the

led national government in 2015.

Controversies and Incidents

Was suspended from parliament for a week in 2016 for a brawl. Was part of the brawl on 15 Nov 2018, and had a blunt knife in hand which he appeared to want to use but held back by fellow UNP MPs. In July 2016, Palitha Theewarapperuma went on hunger strike demanding authorities to admit 9 children in to a public school. During the events he attempted suicide by hanging himself. However he was admitted to the hospital and underwent a bypass surgery. Following the incident the students were admitted to grade 1 of the school. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic he on several occasions he distributed food supplies to the people of the village Atalugama, which was under lock down due to COVID infections.

Social Services and Public Image

Palitha Thewarapperuma has been popular amongst the local masses for his social service activities and philanthropy. He rose to fame among people of the entire island especially during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka The COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 () virus. The first case of the virus in Sri Lanka was con ...

for having provided food, dry rations and other necessities to the rural population of constituency the

Kalutara Electoral District Kalutara electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Kalutara in the Western province. The dist ...

Family

His son died of a sudden illness in August 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thewarapperuma, Palitha Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka United National Party politicians 1960 births Living people Sinhalese politicians