Former Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeyeratne said that the elephant Thai Raja which was gifted to the Sri Dalada Maligawa by the King of Thailand 37 years ago is in good health but that certain Non-Governmental Organizations in this country are conveying wrong information to the Thai government about this elephant.
He said that, if an attempt is made to take this elephant which was offered by the King of Thailand back to that country, legal action will be filed seeking compensation for the expenditure spent on maintaining the elephant up to now.
He also said that offering something to the Sacred Tooth Relic is similar to offering something to the Buddha himself and an event of such cultural value cannot be taken lightly.
The former Diyawadana Nilame who said that the elephant Thai Raja was brought to Sri Lanka on February, 24 1986 was offered to the Sri Dalada Maligawa ceremoniously the following day,
also emphasized that from then onwards the elephant was looked after by seniors in the field of veterinary science Vijitha Kuruwita, Neville Silva and Asoka Dangolla.
He emphasized further that representatives of non-governmental organizations that depend on foreign money are working towards sending the other two elephants that were given to Sri Lanka
by Thailand back to that country based on the issue regarding Muthu Raja and many of them want to influence the Perahera culture in Sri Lanka.
The former Diyawadana Nilame said that in the past 37 years since the elephant Thai Raja was brought to Sri Lanka, a huge amount of money has been spent on taking care of the elephant and
therefore, if the elephant is requested by Thailand, he will personally intervene and sue them for the maintenance expenses.
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