The Prime Minister said he was in “full agreement” with the statement issued by the Maha Sangha leaders of the three Nikayas recently, adding that measures would be taken to establish a National Religious Reconciliation Committee to eliminate suspicion between religions and establish national unity. Referring to the Easter Sunday bombings, the Premier observed that: “Just because the ISIS terrorists launched this attack, some suspect all Muslims. This is a grave issue. As this is the only country for the Sinhalese, they are scared of what might happen, which is understandable. After the terror attacks all three communities united, but with last week’s incidents, again the Muslim people were isolated. This is not a good thing for the country. That is why I spoke with all the Muslim MPs who resigned from the government. We must unite and resolve our differences and move forward as people of one country.”
The Prime Minister noted that irrespective of which religion one chooses to follow, every citizen should have the right to follow their religion peacefully. “While Buddhism is given prominence through the Constitution, all other religions have also been accepted,” he pointed out. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that under this government the Samurdhi allowance had been increased to Rs.3,000 and in the third phase, the government has increased Samudhi benefits to 600,000 recipients.
Internal and Home Affairs and Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Vajira Abeywardena, Lands and Parliamentary Reforms Minister and Chief Government Whip Gayantha Karunatillake, Primary Industries and Social Empowerment Minister Daya Gamage and Supervisory MP of the Samurdhi Ministry Bandula Lal Bandarigoda, together with several other MPs, state officials and Samurdhi beneficiaries participated in the event.