• No formal request made from religious leaders

The Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs stated that no final decision has been made about an annual exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

This despite reports that a discussion regarding  an annual Tooth Relic exposition was held amongst the stakeholders.

A special exhibition of the Sacred Tooth Relic was held from 18 to 27 April. During it, Central Province Governor Prof. S. B. Abayakoon said that discussions would be held with the relevant parties on the possibility of allowing devotees to venerate the Tooth Relic annually.

In response to a query by The Daily Morning on whether an exposition would be held annually, Deputy Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Gamagedara Dissanayake said that although external parties may propose the idea, the final decision rests with the Chief Prelates (Mahanayakas) of the Asgiri and Malwathu Chapters of the Siam Sect, along with the Chief Lay Custodian (Diyawadana Nilame) of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

Deputy Minister Dissanayake said: "During the Tooth Relic Exposition, a review committee met daily under the chairmanship of the Provincial Governor. When the issue of crowd congestion was discussed, a proposal was made to request the Mahanayakas and the Diyawadana Nilame to consider holding the exposition annually. However, this was not an official request. Typically, an exposition is held at the request of the Head of State. As external parties, we can only make suggestions.”

The recently concluded Tooth Relic Exposition marked the first public display of the relic in 16 years, offering devotees the opportunity to pay their respects. The event was organised following a request by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Issues with crowd control and poor planning and management of the large volume of devotees that flocked to view the tooth relic drew criticism from some quarters, and triggered a debate as to if there should be a more formal, periodical exhibition of the sacred tooth relics of Buddha.