Rajapakse Government under Fire

"Crossing and double crossing are common practice in Sri Lankan politics and the wheeler-dealing, awarding plum ministerial posts to woo the MPs and other perks and benefits offers that goes on behind the scenes to get law makers to change sides in Sri Lanka are widely practiced, President Rajapaksa known for his negotiating skill and winning the majority."

(December, 12, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) party, four cabinet ministers quits government and crossed over to the opposition benches just two days before the crucial final voting on controversial budget 2008 on December 14th, according to the sources.

Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Rauf Hakeem said, President Rajapaksa’s government had failed to resolve problems of his community including a dispute about acquiring lands owned by Muslims in the eastern province.

Political analysts says, government has razor thin majority of just one vote and might be defeated on Friday final budget vote.

Crossing and double crossing are common practice in Sri Lankan politics and the wheeler-dealing, awarding plum ministerial posts to woo the MPs and other perks and benefits offers that goes on behind the scenes to get law makers to change sides in Sri Lanka are widely practiced, President Rajapaksa known for his negotiating skill and winning the majority, he added

With so many Crossing and double crossing, it has been difficult to keep track of who is in which party, he said.

However another party Ceylon Malayaka Congress under Arumgam Thondaman’s party with seven members is also in the process of reconsidering its support for the President Rajapkasa’s government, raising uncertainty, he added. The government has expressed confidence that its ability to approve the budget without any difficulty.

Meanwhile, the government aligned TMVP under Pilliayan had abducted the brother of Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP P. Ariyanethran, P. Sriskandaseya, 54, secretary of TNA MP, K. Thangeswari, Ira Nagalingam and the son-in-law of TNA MP S. Jeyanandamoorthy's sister, Arunasalam Sivapalan, 28 to force all three TNA MPs to abstain from final budget vote on December 14th 2007.

Failing to abstain from voting on the final reading on the voting day on December 14th 2007, by the all four TNA eastern MPs will definitely result in killing of all those who were abducted by the group, warned President Rajapaksa’s Pillaiyan group.

Second budget reading on the budget on November 19th, the son-in-law of the another TNA MP, T. Kagagasabai, was abducted the day before the budget voting by the Pillaiyan group to force the TNA MP to abstain from voting. The son-in-law of the MP had been released once T. Kagagasabai, MP was made to abstain from voting and the government had won the crucial budget voting in the parliament 2nd reading. This is the kind of democracy in practiced in Sri Lanka, a rights group said.

Sri Lanka Marxist party JVP with 37 members’ position on the Friday voting still not known publicly and JVP voted against the government last November 2nd budget reading voting.

According to the Sri Lankan constitution failure to muster the necessary support for the budget will lead to Parliament dissolution and fresh parliamentary elections could be called by the government.