Casino Bill is against Constitution: Ven Sobitha

 Thursday, 24 April 2014 

People's Movement for Social Justice Chairman the Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera said to the media that it was against the Constitution to approve a Casino Bill in Parliament because the Government was constitutionally bound to protect Buddhism.

The Government should include a clause in this bill that no gambling would be entertained said by the Ven. Sobitha Thera at a news conference yesterday.

“Buddhism rejects gambling and alcohol which leads to the destruction of the morals of the people. So casinos are also against Buddhism. All nefarious activities will end up being centered round the casino hubs. The Government should not approve the casino bill when even the Maha Sangha and other religious leaders have advised against setting them up,” Ven. Sobitha Thera said.

Ven. Sobitha Thera said the Speaker should hold a secret vote on the casino bill so that the parliamentarians could vote according to their conscience.

“The All Ceylon Muslim Congress and the Jathika Hela Urumaya have announced that they would vote against this bill. We urge all the parliamentarians irrespective of their party affiliations to vote against the Bill, which would be detrimental to the religious and cultural traditions of Sri Lanka.”

Sobithe Thero also empahsized that S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s Government in1956 closed the racecourse by banning horse racing in Colombo and replaced it with a university but this Government was going to start casinos which are much worse.

Meanwhile United National Party (UNP) MPs will hold a protest rally Today (24) at the proposed site of the Crown Multi-Purpose Development Project at D. R. Wijewardene Mawatha in Colombo to show their opposition to the legislation, under which tax concessions are being granted to three major development projects.