While speculation was rife that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) would pledge support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the High Command of the SLMC, the top-most decision making body of the party, ended its Saturday night meeting with serious divisions, without arriving at a concrete decision.

The High Command, after discussing the matter for nearly three hours, agreed to meet on Sunday (28) to make a final decision. Party sources said All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) will also be consulted tomorrow morning before making the official announcement of the decision.

SLMC General Secretary and Parliamentarian Hasen Ali told this newspaper late last night that the party is due to convene a special press briefing today (28) at its headquarters ‘Darusalaam’ where a final decision is due to be announced.

Minutes before the SLMC High Command meeting, a senior spokesman of the party told ‘The Nation’ that the SLMC had a 90 percent chance of supporting the President. During the meeting however, some members of the party High Command strongly opposed the move to support President Rajapaksa’s candidature.

It is learnt that while the top-rung leadership of the SLMC, including its Leader Rauff Hakeem, is of the view that the party should remain with the UPFA government, the rank and file is exerting pressure on the leadership to step out of the ruling coalition.
On Monday night, Hakeem received an invitation from President Mahinda Rajapaksa to visit Temple Trees for a final round of discussions.

During the meeting, Hakeem told the President that he was in a “helpless position” as a number of concerns raised the Muslim community of Sri Lanka still remain un-addressed. He had cited that as the major reason for the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress to leave the government.

As an immediate short-term solution to Hakeem’s problem, the President promised to resolve the issue surrounding the mosque in Dambulla, which came under attack from hardcore Buddhist groups in 2012.With this promise, Hakeem decided to postpone the announcement of his decision and buy more time.

A day after the SLMC Leader’s meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, another high profile meeting took place at the SLMC Leader’s personal residence in Colombo. Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, one of the most influential Ministers of the UPFA government, attended the meeting and he was accompanied by a Senior Presidential Advisor who was also a Cabinet Minister before 2010 General Election. The Senior Presidential Advisor participated in this secret meeting on the grounds that he is a close friend of Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem.

The meeting had a satisfactory outcome for the government and the SLMC Leader agreed to ‘soften’ his stance after the Economic Development Minister agreed to look into Hakeem’s grievances.

Courtesy:The Nation