RAUFF HAKEEM’S PARTY ONCE AGAIN IN A CRISIS WITH FOUR MORE M.P’S THREATENING TO CROSS OVER; ONE ALREADY JOINED GOVT.
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
May 19, 06.30 PM:The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), the controversy ridden Muslim political party of Sri Lanka and close ally of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is once again in crisis with some of its parliamentarians threatening to leave the party and join the government .
Amidst serious allegations of its leader Rauf Hakeem having a scandalous love affair with a married Sinhalese woman already a newly appointed SLMC parliamentarian has left the party and crossed over to the government benches . Sources close to the party said that many more would follow suit.
Using pro-UNP newspapers and television channels faithful to UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe Rauff Hakeem has retorted back by declaring that the allegation stories were simply concoctions of the state owned media used as a cheap tactic to compel his party to join the minority government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga The pro UNP/LTTE weekly Sunday leader has published a detailed report attempting to absolve him.
Holding a press conference, May 18, at Colombo’s Taj Samudra Hotel SLMC polit bureau member Ashek Masrudeen Inamulla said that if the SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem did not step aside from the leadership of the party four parliamentarians of the party would sit separately as an alternative group of the party. He said the scandal of the illicit love affair between Rauff Hakeem and Kumari Cooray, a married woman has brought the party to disrepute.
He said the SLMC parliamentarians, Najeeb A.Majed, Rishad Badurdeen, Faisal Kaseem , Ameer Ali and Hussain Bahila have decided not to work under Rauff Hakeem any longer.
He said already hussain Bahila has crossed over to the government beches from from May 18.
Husain Bahila is a UNP national list MP appointed for the SLMC recently. When he joined the government beches government parliamentarians were thumping on their desks to express their joy.
