Rajapaksa pays tribute to monk who engineered his downfall

Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa today paid tribute to an influential Buddhist monk who headed the civil society movement which caused his downfall at the presidential election held in January this year.
73-year-old Venerable Maduluwave Sobhitha died while undergoing treatment on Sunday.
Sobhitha led 'Movement for a Society with Justice' which became the rallying point for all anti-government forces. He became a vociferous critic of the then Rajapaksa rule while asking for far reaching democratic and constitutional reforms.
He played an significant role in getting the opposition political party approval to field Sirisena as the common opposition challenger to Rajapaksa in the presidential elections held in January this year.

In a message of condolence, Rajapaksa said that Sobitha had carried out an immense service to the Nation during the war against the LTTE and following the devastating 2004 tsunami.