News: Buddhist

Rajapalayam (TN), Sept 1 (PTI) A Sri Lankan Member of Parliament has charged that the Lankan government was not permitting rebuilding of Hindu temples destroyed or damaged during the war and was instead building Buddhist viharas in their place. "The original structure of the temples are being razed and Buddhist viharas and coming up in their place," claimed Seenithambi Yogeswaran, of the Sri Lankan Tamil National Council, here yesterday. So far, more than 1,400 Hindu temples had been affected, he said, adding the destruction of the temples threatened the culture of the native Tamil people itself. Yogeswaran claimed that even basic amenities had not been provided in areas where the Tamil population lived. He also rejected the Mahinda Rajapaksa government''s claim that the civil war had come to an end, saying that so far no political solution had been found for the Tamils. Even the relief materials sent from India were not given to the Tamil people, he alleged. Yogeswaran claimed India had given the Lankan government funds to construct 50,000 houses, but the island nation government had not even completed 1,000 houses. He stressed on the need to implement the Rajiv Gandhi-Jayawardene accord, giving autonomy for Tamil areas.PTI COR/SSN ARP