The president of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed media organisations in the country to inform the population to desist from using images of the Buddha, printed on their media, for general purposes, reported the Daily Mirror.
The directive came after the head of the Asgiriya Chapter, Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha called on the president to stop print media from publishing pictures of Buddha or set guidelines to ensure the printed images are not used in an inappropriate manner, according to the Daily News.
The Buddhist leader said during a meeting with Rajapaksa last Thursday that printed material, bearing the image of Buddha, were used as serviettes in restaurants and to wrap consumer goods by traders, noting that this amounted to sacrilege.