Mahinda Rajapakse:”Acts of sabotage, destruction and vandalism against any religious place of worship must be totally condemned.”

IANS/Colombo


Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse deplored the attack on a prominent Buddhist temple in India yesterday, his office said in a statement.
Rajapakse said that following the bomb explosions at the Mahabodhi Temple in India’s Bihar state human beings of all faiths must hold hands together to root out any acts against religions and places of worship and
veneration.
“Sri Lanka has undergone similar tragedies when the most venerated and sacred Temple of the Tooth and Sri Mahabodhi were mercilessly attacked by terrorists, some years ago. Therefore, people and the government of Sri Lanka will extend their fullest support to the people and the government of India in this hour of great tragedy. We also wish speedy recovery to those who were injured due to these blasts and offer prayers for quick restoration of normalcy of this most venerated shrine in order that Buddhists and other pilgrims are able to perform their religious observances as in the past,” the president said.
Several people were injured in the multiple-bomb explosions at the Buddhist temple which is frequented by pilgrims from around the world including Sri Lanka.
Rajapakse, who himself has visited the temple, said that acts of sabotage, destruction and vandalism against any religious place of worship must be totally condemned.
Thousands of people from Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka visit Bodh Gaya on pilgrimage, the site where Lord Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment or the Buddhahood.
Earlier in the year, the offices of the Mahabodhi Society, the administrative body associated with Bodh Gaya based in Chennai, came under attack by suspected Tamil elements.
Meanwhile, the government advised Sri Lankan pilgrims to avoid visiting the temple until investigations into the blast
conclude.
India’s union home secretary Anil Goswami has said that the blasts were a terror attack.



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