Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, the General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), has made serious allegations claiming that a candidate representing the National People’s Power (NPP) in the Kattankudy constituency has links to a global Islamic terrorist network.
Speaking at a press conference held in Colombo, Gnanasara Thero asserted that individuals previously involved in efforts to establish an Islamic state in Sri Lanka are now openly aligned with the current government.
According to the Thero, these groups which have been active since the 1990s, were connected to training and sending youth abroad with the alleged aim of creating an Islamic state, an agenda he says continues under new political affiliations.
The Thero specifically named Buhari Muhamad Pradas Naleem, the NPP candidate for Kattankudy, alleging that his candidacy is part of a broader hidden agenda tied to extremist networks.
“If we discuss the attempt to establish an Islamic state in this country by collaborating with the global terrorist network behind the Easter Sunday attack, it’s clear that, since the 1990s, the same groups that trained individuals and sent youth abroad for this cause are now openly associated with the present government,” he said.
Gnanasara Thero went on to question the integrity of political movements that he claims have harbored such ideologies.
“If this movement has been operating from within the NPPr since 2015, then what should be done today?” he asked.
The Thero suggested that the Catholic Church, particularly Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, would likely support a ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami movement in Sri Lanka, as a step toward addressing unresolved issues stemming from the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
He also criticized legal professionals allegedly tied to these groups, stating that “its secretary, a lawyer named Harees, is also currently aligned with the government. So where is the justice for the Easter attack?”
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