Several Buddhist groups in Sri Lanka have attacked the government for allowing the Sri Lankan national anthem to be sung in Tamil, Ceylon Today reported.
The groups accused the government of "acceding to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam sentiments".
The Ravana Balaya said it is organising a "massive protest" against the government's decision.
The group said the anthem cannot be sung in two languages as stated in the constitution, accusing President Maithripala Sirisena of pandering to Tamils, especially the TNA and "pro-tiger" groups who had voted for him.
"This is why beside mature politicians like the TNA Leader R Sambanthan, there are crooks like Democratic People's Front leader Mano Ganesan placed in the National Executive Council," Ravana Balaya's leader Iththekande Saddhatissa said.
The Bodu Bala Sena's general secretary, Gnanasara said the ruling coalition had violated the constitution twice.
"The people never voted for a prime minister to be appointed. Sirisena was voted in by those who wanted a change in fraud and corruption," Gnanasara said.
"People did not vote for Sirisena to remove High Security Zones and allow LTTE puppets to run the show. Neither did they vote for Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera to allow separatist Non-Governmental Organisations in," the BBS leader further said.
The influential Asgiriya chapter, one of the leading monastic orders in Sri Lanka, said "this sudden unconstitutional move is unacceptable and can create ethnic rifts."
Dr Medagama Dhammananda, a committee member of the chapter said,
"This places the country in a perilous situation. They may have done it in the interest of national unity but these are sensitive matters and therefore should have been discussed extensively by the public and religious leaders prior to arriving at a consensus,
"The majority's rights are being denied. They should not do this merely because the Tamils and Muslims voted for them."
The leader of the Sihala Ravaya also said the anthem should only be in one language.
"Sirisena's decision to arbitrarily change this is wrong," Akmeemana Dayaratna said.
"In the future if Muslims want it in Arabic or the indigenous peoples, the Veddas, want it in their language, we will have to accommodate them too and at a function like the Independence Day celebrations, we will have to stand for a long time. This move will create unnecessary problems," he said.
Sri Lankan national anthem in Tamil causes backlash (21 March 2015)
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