- Tuesday, 02 December 2014 21:05
Highly
placed political sources told Asian Mirror this evening that the Sri
Lanka Muslim Congress, an ally of the UPFA government, was likely to
join the common opposition.
Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Minister of Justice Rauff
Hakeem, was scheduled to meet opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe for
a crucial meeting, this evening (02).
It was also rumoured that Hakeem had a separate discussion with former
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga on the matter and the
meeting ended on a positive note. However, no spokesperson from the SLMC
confirmed any meeting with the former President.
The SLMC Leader was expected to convene a meeting of the party High
Command, the top decision making body of the SLMC, following the meeting
with the opposition leader.
An SLMC delegation, led by Minister of Justice Rauff Hakeem , met
President Mahinda Rajapaksa two weeks ago, to discuss the key issues
pertaining to Muslims. When asked about the meeting, SLMC Spokesman N.
Kariyappar told Asian Mirror that nothing was discussed on the party's
support to any party at the presidential election. "The meeting was
aimed at finding solutions to some unresolved problems faced by the
Muslim community of Sri Lanka," Kariyappar said.
However, political sources added that the SLMC was closely monitoring
the moves of Minister Rishad Bathiudeen's party at the presidential
election. Although Amir Ali, a member of the Eastern Provincial Council
representing the ACMC was appointed to Parliament from the UPFA national
list, he has not yet accepted the offer. Therefore, ACMC support to
President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the presidential election still hangs in
the balance.
