I went to Kingsbury to get medicine for fever - Releasing CCTV data from the hotel is a serious offense - Ven. Kassapa Thero

A major controversy erupted on social media yesterday when Balangoda Kassapa Thero, who is engaged in a Satyagraha launched from Viharamahadevi Park, arrived at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo. In response to accusations that he engaged in a secret discussion there with a politician, including former minister Sarath Weerasekara, and others, as well as criticisms that leaders enjoy luxuries while ordinary people suffer, he has given a strong response.

Rejecting accusations by some that this Satyagraha is being carried out with political motives, Kassapa Thero points out that he went to the Kingsbury Hotel due to a sudden severe illness. He states that about two days prior, he had a fever of around 102 degrees and was severely shivering, which necessitated his relocation to a resting place prepared by devout devotees. He also mentioned that medical teams arrived there and provided treatment.

However, following this incident, Kassapa Thero has leveled a serious accusation against the management of the hotel concerned. He accuses that despite visiting these places based on public trust, the managers and heads of the institutions have released very sensitive personal data to the media. Kassapa Thero emphasizes that such release of personal data by international-level hotel complexes is a serious situation, and even the expatriate community will think twice about the trust they place in these institutions, and he intends to take legal action against it.

Furthermore, he points out that the government or pro-government factions have launched a suppression campaign, threatening people who support his Satyagraha. He states that no one has the right to intimidate the public by taking photographs of vehicles arriving for the Satyagraha, finding information about their owners, and releasing it to the media.

Balangoda Kassapa Thero states that the smear campaigns against him are happening due to hired contracts by certain parties, and he recalls that such criticisms existed even during the time of the Buddha. He points out that the Buddha himself sometimes used simple abodes and at other times resided in the luxurious homes of kings and ministers, and he declares that the public should not fall prey to these misleading narratives. He further emphasizes that the Buddhist community is ready and willing to offer water, food, labor, and even land to the Sasana (Buddhist dispensation) as much as they can, and in a context where even the entire country was offered to the Buddha Sasana in the past, talking about one hotel room is futile.

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