Radical Sinhalese-Buddhist Outfit Takes Political Avatar as 'BJP'

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan politics has now got a new player, the Budhu Jana Peramuna (BJP), an offshoot of the radical Sinhalese-Buddhist organization Bodu Bala Sena (BBS).Translated into English as “Intelligent Peoples’ Front”, the BJP will be contesting the August 17 parliamentary elections from at least 15 districts which have a Sinhalese-Buddhist majority.

Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, General Secretary of the parent body, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) told the media here on Tuesday, that the BJP will represent the country’s Sinhalese Buddhist majority in parliament.

“While we have many small parties representing the Tamils and the Muslims, we do not have anyone representing the Sinhalese. Minority parties representing the Tamils and Muslims are also pressurizing the government. We need to change all this,” he said.

The King Cobra (Naga) will be the BJP’s election symbol, the monk-politician said. The Naga is a sacred symbol found in all Buddhist temples and is worshiped as the source of intelligence and power.

However, the CEO of the BBS, Dilantha Withanage told Express that the BJP will be a non-communal party, which is why it is called Budhu Jana Peramuna (Intelligent Peoples’ Front) and not Bodu Bala Sena (The Army of Buddhist Power).  The BJP is  open to all ethnic groups and creeds, he stressed.

“The BJP’s aims are anything but communal. It is pledged to work for economic development, peace, reconciliation, national unity and nation security,” he said.

Since the BJP is not a registered political party yet, it will have to contest the August 17 elections under the banner of a registered party which is the Eksath Lanka Mahasabhawa (ELM), Withanage said.

“The BBS will remain to pursue its social objectives. The BJP will be its political wing,” he clarified.

Political observers feel that the BBS is taking a second identity to brush under the carpet its unsavory track record as an anti-Muslim, Sinhalese Buddhist communal outfit allied to the authoritarian Mahinda Rajapaksa regime till the latter’s ouster early this year. The BBS is believed to have contributed to the alienation of the Muslims (8 percent of the Lankan population) from Rajapaksa and his subsequent defeat in the January 8 Presidential election.

During Rajapaksa’s rule, the BBS had led a successful campaign against “Halal” certification. It had also campaigned against the Hijab on security grounds. More recently, it petitioned the Central Bank to stop Islamic banking.