Sumanadasa speaks about "Avurudu oil nekath"
The former President expressed ideas that there is some blemish relating to the auspicious time concerning anointing of oil on the head for the Sinhala and Hindu New Year which passed a few days back. Well-known astrologer Sumanadasa Abeygoonewardena now says that there is some truth in ideas stated to the media by the former President. What he says is that there does not seem to be anything wrong with the
auspicious hour concerned; but that the West Direction chosen for that purpose however is not that much in harmony and because the Moon was in the Sign of Cancer, which under such circumstances the North would be the suitable direction.The incident that Sumanadasa Abeygoonewardena who functioned as the royal astrologer for the former President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa prepared the auspicious time in advance for the election and the election was held and for that reason Mahinda was defeated came in for criticism from various corners. Subsequently, the incident that Sumanadasa who strongly criticised Mahinda had admitted that he was aware that Mahinda would be defeated and that he kept it a secret from him for fear too became a sensational matter.
The former President had criticised this auspicious hour on the occasion when he visited the Asgiri Maha Nayaka Thero saying that there is a problem relating to Avurudu customs this time and that it has been prepared with the Party in focus and not the country. It was at that moment that he expressed his opinion that the auspicious hour for anointing oil on the head is incorrect. Instead of the scheduled auspicious hour of 10.41, the former President had his head anointed at 1 in the afternoon. The former astrologer of Mahinda, Sumanadasa now admits that a part of this Nekath problem is true.