The resolution moved by Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran in the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) prohibiting the construction of temples in the North is unwarranted by law, Buddha Sasana and Justice Minister Dr. Wijayadasa Rajapakshe said. He made this statement participating in the Committee Stage debate of ‘Budget 2017’ when the expenditure Heads of Buddha Sasana Ministry was taken up in Parliament yesterday.
“Under what law has the Chief Minister been given such power? The powers of Provincial Councils are clearly mentioned in Article 154 of Constitution. The NPC is inviting humiliation due to passing of this kind of resolutions. Nobody is ready to accept its validity. It will only go to the dustbin in the end,” he said.
“The Chief Minister earned our respect when he was a Supreme Court judge. For some people, communalism is the oxygen of survival. Whether he is married to a Sinhalese, Tamil or Muslim may not be relevant here. However, I honour the Opposition Leader and TNA Parliamentary group for not approving this kind of behaviour of some provincial level politicians,” he noted.
Minister Rajapakshe urged the Chief Minister to act with restraint not to annoy the Sinhala Buddhists.
TNA MP S Shritharan rising to a point of order said the Minister had misunderstood the content of the resolution, adding that it only restricts construction of Buddhist temples in areas where there is no Buddhist community.