Rajapaksas to take over Temple of the Tooth too?

 Thursday, 10 July 2014 

The President has initiated a special mission to appoint Uva Chief Minister Shashindra Rajapaksa to the revered position of the Diyawadana Nilame of the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, internal sources from the Temple say.

At the present, Shashindra Rajapaksa functions as the Basnayake Nilame of the Kataragama Devalaya as well.

Formerly an office of the Royal household, today the Diyawadana Nilame remains a prestigious position, enriched with over two thousand years of history to safeguard and carry out ancient rituals for the most sacred Relic of the tooth of the Buddha.

The Diyawadana Nilame is now elected by a far-flung electorate comprising the most Ven. Mahanayake Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters.

Trustees of Buddhist Temples with an annual income of Rs. 1,000/- and registered with the Public Trustee and the divisional revenue officers (now Sri Lanka Administrative Service Officers) in the Kandy areas.

These officers have to be Buddhists and male. Each term of an elected Diyawadana Nilame is 10 years and he may run for a second term.

The first term of the present Diyawadana Nilame - Nilanga Dela Bandara ends in 2015.

It is said that the President is planning to name Nilanga Dela Bandara to Parliament from the national list and hand him the reins of the Buddha Sasana Ministry before naming Shashindra to the election.

As a person hailing from the low country has never been appointed to this prestigious position before, the President has reportedly decided to take the election campaign to his own hands.