Over Rs. 700 million spent by Rajapaksa government for a bid

Saturday, 31 January 2015 
Details of the massive wastage of public funds by the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa government are now being exposed.

Among the many incidents of such wastage of public funds is the wasting of over Rs. 700 million on a bid that Sri Lanka actually lost.

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said during the budget speech that over Rs.760 million of public money was wastefully spent on the unsuccessful presentation of the Commonwealth Games bid by the former regime.

Former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivad Cabraal was the co-chairman of the Hambantota 2018 bid.

Cabraal travelled to St Kitts together with a 160 strong delegation that included co-chairman Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, UPFA MP Namal Rajapaksa, provincial councilor Anarkali Akarsha and former national cricketers Muttiah Muralitharan and Aravinda de Silva among others.

The failed Commonwealth Games bid is just one in many instances wear the public has had to bear the lavishness of the former regime.

Does One Violate Buddha’s Teaching By Worshiping Objects?

By Kapila Abhayawansa -January 30, 2015

Prof Kapila Abhayawansa

I have read the article entitled “The President’s Faux Pas” written bySharmini Serasinghe in Colombo Telegraph dated 27^th January. Referring to President’s homage to Bo tree, she observes: “, it is with deep despair, that I as a Buddhist noted, you President Maitripala Sirisena paying homage to a Bo tree, even though it is venerated by a majority of the Buddhist populace of this country. Furthermore, by paying homage to a Bo tree, you Mr. President are also openly violating the teachings of the Buddha, who denounced the worship of objects!”.

In my opinion, the President is not the one who violated the teachings of the Buddha by paying homage to Bo tree but Sharmini Serasinghe by saying that the Buddha denounced the worship of objects.

As the above mentioned statement of Sharmini leads to misinterpretation of the teachings of the Buddha I would like to make the following remarks:

In fact, the Buddha never denounced the worship of sacred objects as a mark of respect. What the Buddha denounced was the homage of object as a path to liberation. It is explicitly pointed out by the Buddha in the verses 188 to 192 of the Dhammapada.

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