Speaking at a virtual press conference the convicted extremist monk Galagodaaththe Gnanasara who heads the "Presidential Task Force for One Country, One law" has said it poses as an opportunity to implement Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) proposals and seeks to include them in the draft act.

Gnanasara said  "BBS ... talked about state-patronage, sterilisation, religious conversions and cultural invasions. We need to discuss the same matters according to the mandate of the Task Force."

He went on to add that "we have to include the same matters in the draft expected from the Task Force".

The extremist monk was previously found guilty on two counts and sentenced to 6 months in prison for threatening the wife of Prageeth Eknaligoda; a critic of the then government in 2010. He was released from prison following a presidential pardon. 

He also faced severe criticism for spreading hate speech and attacking religious minorities. In 2014, prior to the anti-Muslim riots, he told a cheering Sinhala nationalist crowd in Aluthgama that “if one marakkalaya ( Muslim) lays a hand on a Sinhalese that will be the end of all of them”. The resulting violence killed four people and left 80 injured, with hundreds left homeless. Amongst the sites attacked were mosques, Muslim homes, businesses, and even a nursery.

Whilst the Body Bala Sena (BBS), Gnanasara’s organisation, denied responsibility for the riots he has repeatedly stoked fear amongst the Sinhala public warning them of the need to resist eradication. The BBS also has strong ties with Myanmar’s extremist 969 and with the radical monk Wirathu who are similarly criticised for stoking resentment against the Rohingya population.

Read more at the Daily Mirror and the Colombo Gazette