Colombo, Aug 18 (PTI) A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday granted permission to former LTTE fighter Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, who is currently in police remand in a murder suspect, to attend the inaugural session of the country's new Parliament on August 20.

The High Court in Batticaloa said the leader of Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP), Chandrakanathan, should be allowed to attend the Parliamentary session as he was elected as Member of Parliament from Batticaloa district in the August 5 Parliamentary elections.

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Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, is a suspect in the 2005 Christmas Day murder of Joseph Pararajasingham, a veteran Tamil politician who represented the moderate Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

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The TMVP is an ally of the ruling Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) led by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Pillayan, an ex-militant who started as a child soldier with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was the first elected chief minister of Batticaloa in 2008. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)