Speaking at a campaign rally in Negombo, he said if elected they would take strict decisions pertaining to national security and also assured that he himself will accept responsibility for everything that happens under his presidency and not blame anyone else. His comments came as government under President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime minister Ranil Wickremsinghe has been accused of negligence in preventing the attacks despite prior intelligence inputs.
The issue has been a main rallying point for former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the Presidential elections scheduled for Saturday. Rajapaksa has said that during their regime, they had a good understanding of what national security is and why national security must be prioritized but accused the current government lost focus on national security once they came into power.
A local Islamic organization was held responsible for the attacks though ISIS had claimed the responsibility.