The Chief Incumbent of Mangalarama Temple destroyed a cornerstone with President Maithripala Sirisena's name, after the latter failed to attend the opening ceremony of a new building in the temple.

The Chief Incumbent said that the President was invited for the event, a claim the President's Media Division later refuted.

However, the Chief Incumbent Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thera said that the President informed him that he does not have time to visit the temple.

The President was in Batticalo yesterday.

The Mangalarama Temple is the only Buddhist temple in Batticaloa.