A group including Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe today attempted to enter the Nagananda International Buddhist Meditation Training Center in Manelwatte, Kelaniya, claiming it to be a secret center of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
However, the security personnel there did not allow him to enter and the police also arrived at the scene.
The Deputy Minister called the chief priest of the place and stated that he had come there on the request of the villagers to inspect the place.
He said that there was a problem regarding the ownership of the land and that the villagers were alleging that it was a land that had been forcibly seized, and he said that he would investigate the matter through the District Secretary.
Addressing the media, the Minister further stated that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has mysteriously visited the place frequently in the past and therefore suspicions have arisen among the general public regarding this.