Bad politicians encouraged NTJ to flourish: Patali

While saying that Zahran Hashim who is deemed to be the leader of National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ), should have been nipped in the bud in 2014, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said some bad politicians had encouraged the NTJ to come to the strong position that they are in now.

Making a statement on his official Facebook page, he said the extremist organization was not as dangerous as Prabhakaran and added should have been swept away at its inception.

“We are facing the repercussion of not taking initial steps at the beginning to do away with this organization. However, it is vital to be united even now to eradicate these types of extremist organizations,” the Minister said.

“It was not fitting to put the blame on entire Muslim community for something done by a group of 200 members of a Muslim extremist organization.

He also stressed that the Government had adequate support from foreign countries to tackle with this terrorist origination and the prevailing issue that transpired following series of bomb attacks.

Meanwhile, he said people with skills and talent should be appointed to correct positions so that the issue of this nature could be resolved with ease. (Sheain Fernandopulle)