COLOMBO: Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday inducted seven new ministers, including a Tamil Angajan Ramanathan who is the only elected representative of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party from Jaffna, the capital of Northern district.
Angajan Ramanathan was appointed as a Deputy Minister and took the charge of Ministry of Agriculture.
"Among the new Ministers, two are the state ministers and five deputy ministers," the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBS) said.
It said that five out of the seven appointed are from the United National Party (UNP), the main constituent in the coalition that came to power in August 2015, seven months after Sirisena won the presidency with the help of the UNP.
UNP's Ranjith Aluwihare and Lucky Jayawardena, both from the UNP, were made state ministers while Ajith Mannapperuma, Angajan Ramanathan, Cader Mastan, Edward Gunasekara and Nalin Bandara Jayamaha getting junior ministries.
Aluwihare, a devout Buddhist, got Christian Affairs ministry which also has tourism development included in the portfolio.
Lucky Jayawardena is the state Minister was given Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development.
Ajith Mannapperuma was made deputy minister of Environment, Edward Gunasekara was given Internal Affairs and Wayamba Development deputy Minister while Nalin Bandara Jayamaha takes the deputy post in the Ministry of Public Administration and Management and Law and Order.