Did Mohamed Muneer take the oath as Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana?

දිනපතා සත්‍ය කරුණු දැන ගැනීමට අපගේ WhatsApp චැනලයටමෙතනින් එකතුවන්න.

One of the viral claims that gained significant traction after the cabinet reshuffle on October 10 was that a Muslim national, Mr Mohamed Muneer, had taken the oath as the deputy minister of Buddha Sasana.

Social Media Posts :

A series of posts was shared, mainly in Sinhala, congratulating the new Deputy Minister, Mohamed Muneer, and indicating that his deputy minister portfolio was related to Buddhist activities, specifically the Buddha Sasana.

Facebook | Archived Link

Similar claims were also shared in English. FB

Many people had questioned the accuracy of the posts claiming that Mr M.M. Mohamed Muneer had received the position of Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana. Accordingly, we took steps to investigate the matter as follows.

Fact Check :

Government Official Reports and Media Reports

The NPP government’s first cabinet reshuffle took place yesterday (October 10), and all major media outlets in the country promptly reported news related to this reshuffle.

Accordingly, we took steps to monitor media reports, including official government social media networks, and every accepted media report indicated that M.M. Mohamed Muneer, who previously served as Deputy Minister of National Unity, had taken the oath as Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs.

We also paid attention to several live news reports yesterday morning (October 10), and all of them, quoting official government announcements, stated that M.M. Mohamed Muneer had taken the oath as Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs. Hiru News | Newsfirst

Similarly, the official social media of the President’s Media Division and the Department of Government Information stated that M.M. Mohamed Muneer had taken the oath as Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs.

No accepted media outlet or official government report mentioned that M.M. Mohamed Muneer, Deputy Minister, had taken the oath as Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana.

Accordingly, it becomes clear that the social media posts claiming that M.M. Mohamed Muneer took the oath as Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana are unfounded.

Deputy Minister M.M. Mohamed Muneer

Meanwhile, to further verify the facts on this matter, we contacted Deputy Minister M.M. Mohamed Muneer, and he stated that the social media posts claiming he had received the position of Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana were utterly false.

He further stated that, having previously held the position of Deputy Minister of National Unity, he had taken the oath as Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs in the new reshuffle. Mr Muneer also said that he had not taken the oath as Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana.

Meanwhile, regarding the fact that in social media posts the deputy minister was referred to as Muneer Mulaffer and in other instances as Mohamed Muneer, we also inquired from the Deputy Minister, and he said that his full name is Mohamed Mulaffer Mohamed Muneer and that on many occasions he is referred to as Muneer Mulaffer. Parliament Web

Secretary of the Ministry of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs

We also inquired with the Secretary of the Ministry of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, regarding the social media posts claiming that Mohamed Muneer had taken an oath as Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana.

The Secretary mentioned that Dr Hiniduma Sunil Senevi serves as Minister of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs and with the new reshuffle, the ministry has two Deputy Ministers. The Secretary mentioned that the subject areas are divided between the two.

On the Parliament website, Deputy Minister Gamagedara Dissanayake’s subject area is shown as Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs. [Archived]

When inquiring about this, the Ministry Secretary stated that Gamagedara Dissanayake would serve as Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana and that cultural affairs related to Buddha Sasana would be integrated into the Deputy Minister Gamagedara’s portfolio.

With Mohamed Muneer taking the oath as Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs, other religious affairs and cultural affairs would be integrated under Muneer, the Secretary stated.

Presidential Media Division

We also made an inquiry with the President’s Media Division regarding the social media posts being published, and they confirmed that M.M. Mohamed Muneer, who served as Deputy Minister of National Unity, had taken the oath as Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs in the new reshuffle. The Presidential Media Division also confirmed that he had not taken the oath as Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana.

Recent Cabinet Reshuffle

The current government’s first cabinet reshuffle took place on the 10th, and the Presidential Media Division announced that the government had taken steps to make the cabinet more efficient in line with its development goals, in accordance with the 2026 budget.

Accordingly, three Cabinet Ministers and 10 Deputy Ministers took oath on the morning of October 10 in the presence of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Office, as captured here.

Meanwhile, in November 2024, 29 Deputy Ministers of the National People’s Power government took oath in the presence of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, where Gamagedara Dissanayake took oath as Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.

Similarly, misleading posts about the abolition of the Buddha Sasana Ministry under the National People’s Power government had been published a few months earlier. We conducted a detailed investigation, which revealed that a ministry called Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, was gazetted in 2020. Under this ministry, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Vidura Wickramanayaka had also held ministerial positions in previous governments, respectively. Complete fact-check below.

Conclusion :

Accordingly, it’s clear that Muneer Mulaffer (M.M. Mohamed Muneer) had previously served as Deputy Minister of National Unity. In the cabinet reshuffle held on October 10, he took oath as Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs, not as Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana.

The Deputy Minister in charge of Buddhist Affairs (Buddha Sasana) is Gamagedara Dissanayake. There has been no change in his subject areas so far, and both Deputy Ministers will continue to function under Dr Sunil Senevi, Minister of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.