Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has today stated the Muslim community in Sri Lanka should not hold any reservations in voting in support of the Rajapaksa regime, claiming it is the Muslims who have been benefitted the most since this government was elected into power.

BBS Gnanasara

“Many have accused the BBS and its activities as the reason behind the loss of votes for the government at the Uva Provincial polls. It is an unfair accusation – what is it that this government has not done for the Muslims?,” BBS General Secretary Galagoda Atte Ganasara had questioned while adding that handing over extremely important portfolios such as the Justice Ministry and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to two Muslims itself has spoken for the current government’s affiliation with the Muslims.

Meanwhile, the BBS had warned potential candidates at the upcoming elections to stop themselves from expecting the votes of Sinhala Buddhists in their favour unless they are ready to make a strong pledge to implement the six bills introduced for the protection and preservation of Buddhism that have remained unimplemented for over a decade.

“Even though we admit that those bills alone are not enough, their implementation would ensure a certain protection for Buddhism from the widespread conversions and other attacks that are being launched against Buddhism and Buddhists,” Gnanasara has stated while urging the government to take immediate measures to implement the six bills including the Temple and Devala lands draft bill.

Despite calls by the BBS, it is doubtful as to whether the Rajapaksa regime is interested in implementing these bills. Colombo Telegraph in 2012 published a leaked US diplomatic cable from 2005 that referred to a meeting between Mahinda Rajapaksa who was the Prime Minister and then US Ambassador where PM Rajapaksa had assured that the anti-conversion bill is dead and that he had informed the Jathika Hela Urumaya to ‘to forget about it’.