"Religion can alter the drugs and underworld issue" - Gota

COLOMBO (News 1st) - An event to felicitate the senior artistes was held at the Peellawaththa International Buddhist Center in Minuwangoda yesterday (February 17). The event organized annually by Venerable Parawahara Chandrarathana Thero also saw the participation of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Addressing the people gathered he said that the reason behind issues such as the drug menace and the underworld prevailing in the country is because the people have distanced themselves from ethics and values. The former Defence Secretary further questioned if there was any organization to represent the poor or the elderly community. Those functioning now represent a lot of meaningless aspects of society. He noted that society must be put on 'track' with the help of religion and that the community cannot be altered by enforcing the law. Gotabaya Rajapaksa added that the people need to be taught self-control and restraint.