Addressing the People’s Voice media conference held in Colombo, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader and lawyer Udaya Gammanpila said that the current President will go down in history as the first ruler in the world to seize a Buddha statue. He also said that it is a sinful act equivalent to seizing a living Buddha.
Expressing further views, he said:
”The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, United National Party, Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, Podujana Peramuna, Sri Lanka Mahajana Party, Janatha Sevaka Party, New Janatha Peramuna and a number of mass organizations including Satya Goweshakayo are expected to participate in the Nugegoda rally that will mark the beginning of the end of this government on the 21st.
We have been informed that a group of opposition MPs will be participating in the meeting to symbolize their support for the opposition. Some parties that are not participating have congratulated the meeting. We bow our heads to that brotherhood.
The biggest problem we had while organizing this meeting with the limited resources we have is how to give publicity to this rally. The largest publicity received by an opposition rally in the history of Sri Lanka has been given to the meeting on the 21st. The President did not forget to mention the Nugegoda rally in his budget speech and also in his speech on the Buddha statue in Trincomalee when he ran to Parliament yesterday. We gratefully recall the support given to us by our brother parties in the opposition and the government to make the meeting a success by remembering the government every day.
There are two more days to hold the rally. Even before the rally was held, this rally had become the most successful rally in history. There has never been a rally in history that has scared a government so much.
The government is accusing us of using the Buddha statue incident in Trincomalee as a ploy to bring people to the 21st meeting. Then, did we send the SSP there to go for a discussion and beat up the monks? Did we instruct the police to cut the fence, attack the monks and snatch the Buddha statue?
Did we instruct the Dehiwala Municipal Council to remove the Buddha statue from there? Did we prohibit the observance of penance in the Pradeshiya Sabhas? Is the Augustinian who insulted the Buddha in Kunuharupane a member of our party? Is Mr. Bimal Ratnayake, who said that idol worship is tribal, one of us? Is Mr. Nalin Hewage, who said that the Bo tree is a useless tree, one of us? We also included in the election manifesto that the priority given to Buddhism would be removed from the constitution.
President Anuradha will go down in history as the first ruler in Sri Lankan history to seize a Buddha statue. It is as sinful as seizing the Buddha. Even King Ajatasatta, who went astray on the advice of Devadatta Thera, did not insult the Buddha in this way. Even imperialists took steps to give due respect to Buddhism as the historical religion of this country.