Insulting religious leaders distasteful – PM

Be it Buddhism or Christianity or another religion, insulting any religion or a religious leader is the beginning of decline, Leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

The Premier made this comment at a meeting held in Wanduragala, Kurunegala yesterday (22).

“I have to remind you all that our team is working with awareness. Today, the UNP has split. On one side, it is the faction with former Parliamentarian Sajith Premadasa and on the other side it is the faction with UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Premadasa faction scolds the Wickremesinghe faction and vice versa. While watching that circus these days, we can see that daily these people are falling further and further.

“Therefore, I can see that they are only reducing their number of votes and not increasing them in any way. This morning, I heard one member say that his father was Catholic and that his mother was Buddhist and he insulted the Archbishop of Colombo in a very bad way. A certain person called me and asked me what my opinion about this is. I said that be it Buddhism, Catholicism or any other religion, if someone insults a religious leader, that is the beginning of his decline. I also said, not only that, but that it will be a reason for his Party’s decline too. I think that this immaturity is clearly visible within the Premadasa faction. It exists in the Kurunegala District too. As a result, when any Party breaks up, anywhere, it becomes weaker,” he said.

(Source: Ceylon Today)