SLMC officially crosses over to government
[TamilNet, Monday, 22 November 2010, 12:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) officially crossed over to the
government side during parliamentary sessions when it met Monday.
Rauff Hakim, leader of the SLMC crossed over with his seven fellow
parliamentarians. Hakim was sworn in as Minister of
Justice and SLMC Chairman Basheer Segu Dawood as the Deputy Minister
of Co-operative and Internal Trade Monday morning. All SLMC parliamentarians were
seen seated with the government parliamentarians when President
Mahinda Rajapaksa presented his 2011 Budget in the capacity of Finance
Minister.
In the last general election the SLMC contested with the main
opposition United National Party (UNP) led opposition alliance United
National Front and won 8 seats. Hakim was elected from the Kandy
district in the Central Province and Basheer Segu Dawood was
elected from Batticaloa district in the Eastern Province. The party has been offered one ministerial and a deputy ministerial
portfolio in the new cabinet following the SLMC decision to extend its
support to the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA)
government. The SLMC voted for the 18th amendment to the Constitution
supporting the government.
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