July 19 (IL) Amidst reports of a possible defection by two dissident Sri Lanka Muslim Congress MPs and the Ceylon Workers Congress to the Government, by yesterday both groups had not reached a final decision on the matter.
However, SLMC MP Reshard Bathiudeen said that he and his colleague M. Najeeb will continue to sit in the Opposition when Parliament resumes on Tuesday, this was he added despite the SLMC leadership sacking them from the party on disciplinary grounds, over their alleged involvement in a controversy concerning a female named Kumari.
“We haven’t made a decision as yet whether to defect, but we will continue to suit in the Opposition as an independent group,” Mr. Bathiudeen said.
Meanwhile sources claimed that a majority of CWC members were against any party moves to join the United People’s Freedom Alliance Government. However, MP Muthu Sivalingam told the Daily Mirror that there was no such thing, but if the party takes any decision it would be done so ‘unanimously’.
This is despite, at a crucial meeting early last week, the CWC members informed their leader Arumugam Thondaman that they would abide by any decision taken by him. “We still haven’t taken a decision on whether to support the Government,” Mr. Sivalingam added yesterday evening.
