Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said he could not fathom as to how Buddhism and Adolf Hitler were connected by a Buddhist monk recently. 

Addressing an event in Matara yesterday, the Prime Minister said although there were Buddhist in Germany before Hitler's rule, they became 'extinct; after the latter came to power. 

"Had someone said "be like Hitler" in my presence I would have condemned the statement then and there," Wickremesinghe said. 

"Print media editorials and news items on the Hitler remarks went missing," he added, criticizing the conduct of the Sri Lankan media.

"If the media is like this now, what will happen to the media if Hitler comes to power?" he asked.

The Prime Minister also said, "If the remarks were made in my presence they would have aired the clip all day and night."