SJB national list candidate Harin Fernando criticized Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith for politicizing his position before the last Presidential election.

"At the Presidential election, 500,000 votes would have made a difference. There was a well-orchestrated campaign to ensure that this bloc does not vote for the UNP-led alliance's candidate," Fernando said.

"We all know that 80% of Catholic votes traditionally support the UNP. They carried out a well-thought-out plan to drive them away. Cardinal Ranjith said certain ministers, whose fathers knew of the Easter Sunday attacks, managed to protect themselves. That statement alone was a part of that politically orchestrated plan," Fernando explained.

"This position was politicized at the hands of the current Archbishop of Colombo. I was not going to talk about these issues in public. But, we have to make the public aware of this problem," he said