Sri Lankan party leaders compete to subordinate constitutional drafting to monk authority

Evidence

This, however, has not prevented Buddhist politicians from pandering to the monks’ dictates. For instance, during the October 2000 parliamentary elections, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed his party would not endorse any legislation on devolution without the monks’ imprimatur; and Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka sought to outbid him by saying his People’s Alliance coalition “will seek the views of the Mahanayake Theras on each and every paragraph of the draft constitution, so that they could correct us where we have gone wrong.” — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 313

Categorization

• XREF: Example of the reader’s theme where professed/ideological commitment overrides equal-treatment rational principle — party politicians outbid each other in deference to monastic veto power rather than to impartial process. Also echoes elite-interest-driven manufacture of sectarian grievance vs. genuine belief. — connects to: Sri Lanka’s constitution enshrines Buddhism in a privileged state role. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 144; Buddhist monks entered national politics only very gradually over decades — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 170; A monk-only party formed weeks before a vote could win parliamentary seats. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 172 (+1 more)
• QUESTION: Mirrors the reader’s question about whether threatened beliefs motivate voters or whether politicians are cynically instrumentalizing monastic authority — here the pandering looks strategic and competitive, suggesting manufactured rather than primordial motive.