General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera said the Easter Sunday attacks were driven by religious extremism and had nothing to do with a political issue.

"Unfortunately, both the Government and the opposition have now turned this into a political issue turning a blind eye to religious extremism," Gnanasara Thera said addressing a press conference.

He further stated that the government has also been severely inconvenienced due to the actions of Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.

He said that extremism was akin to cancer and that it should be properly understood. "Islamic extremism should be cured in the same way that a cancer is cured," the monk added.

The monk added that the root cause of religious extremism cannot be addressed in a hurry.