Hakeem, three others cross over

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader Rauff Hakeem and three other SLMC MPs crossed over to the Opposition in Parliament yesterday, Hakeem also resigned as Cabinet Minister for Posts and Telecommunications while his colleagues Hassen Ali, Bashir Segudawood and Faisal Cassim quit their portfolios of Deputy Minister Supplementary crops, Local Government (Non Cabinet) and Deputy Minister Science and Technology respectively.

Making a special statement before the cross over Hakeem said, “I and my three party colleagues have decided to sit with the opposition. It is also with deep regret that I also resigned as Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.”

Hakeem said their decision followed a meeting of the party hierarchy. “As we have failed to safeguard the dignity and the rights of our people, the party had to take this decision. There is a lack of viable alternatives to resolve the critical issues of our people,” he said.

He also extended his sincere thanks to President Mahinda Rajapaksa for appointing him as the Posts and Telecommunication Minister.

Reading from a prepared text the former Minister said, inter alia “I should emphasise the fact that it is with no malice or acrimony that I present my case and that my party will continue to maintain very healthy ties with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his ministers and members of the government even in the future despite our decision to leave the government.

“There are no hostilities between us. We have only parted ways on principals,” he stressed. “We behaved in the most diplomatic manner in the process of leaving the government.

As we promised, we have given adequate advance notice on our decision to quit the government and we expect the government too to respond to our departure in a similar mature manner and take it in the spirit that we made the move.

“All of you are aware the circumstances under which we became part of the government. The decision was more to do with keeping the unity of the party, than out of conviction that there would be room within this government, with its assortment of parties, for us to get at least some leg space to get the basic demands of the Muslim community, met.”