Udaya Gammanpila accuses NPP leaders of pressuring prison officials regarding monk's attire

Udaya Gammanpila, leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, has accused senior leaders of the National People's Power (NPP) of exerting pressure to force Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera to wear a prison uniform while in custody at Welikada Prison.

During a press conference in Colombo, Gammanpila alleged that prison officers attempted to forcibly dress the monk in a jumper despite his resistance. He claimed that a prison officer used a mobile phone to live-stream the incident, allowing an unidentified influential person to monitor the process from another location.

Gammanpila stated that the Thera eventually removed his own monastic robes to assist the officers who were under pressure due to the active camera. He noted that while similar attempts to change the monk's attire occurred in 2010, 2016, and 2018, those efforts were abandoned due to the Thera's objections, whereas this recent incident was driven by external political pressure.