Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera said that he participated in the protest in support of Gotabaya Rajapaksa near the Bribery Commission, not representing the organization, but as a concerned citizen.

Speaking to Asian Mirror on Thursday, Gnanasara Thera said that he has great respect for Gotabaya Rajapaksa for several reasons. The former defense secretary was the key person out of the decision-makers during the last years of the war, Gnanasara Thera said.

Furthermore, he said that unlike the politicians who are better braggers than workers, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has done a tangible service to the country. Therefore, it is not correct to harm such a person, Gnanasara Thera stressed.

Asian Mirror asked Gnanasara Thera if his participation at the protest gives credibility to the allegation that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the ‘hidden hand’ behind the Bodu Bala Sena. “We will have to repeat what we have said earlier. Those allegations are entirely false,” Gnanasara Thera said.