The Hon. M.A.M. Thahir

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Minister, across the country many buildings have been provided to places of worship and are managed by those religious institutions for the benefit of local people. I myself chaired a Pradeshiya Sabha for 14 years. Taking a building given to a religious institution and handing it to a local authority is not acceptable—especially by a Government that came to power promising to eradicate racism. This centre was built with Government funds in 2017 and 2023 on mosque waqf land. The mosque has been paying electricity, water and maintaining furnishings and other facilities. Saying handover has been stopped due to objections by a group is untenable when the mosque has already arranged access for all communities. In Sinhala-majority areas, many buildings are built for temples and managed by them; have you ever attempted to take such buildings and hand them to local authorities? I urge you to ensure this centre, on mosque waqf land, is handed to the mosque for management, consistent with waqf law, to foster harmony.