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Nine government parliamentarians sat in the opposition benches Wednesday as Parliament prepared to debate a no-confidence motion against the government moved by the opposition United National Party on Thursday. The move came exactly an year after the last Parliamentary Elections. Government spokesman and Deputy Minister Mangala Samaraweera expressed confidence in overcoming the opposition challenge, which he described as a ‘mafia style conspiracy engineered by some businessmen with vested interests’. In the meantime, President Chandrika Kumaratunga has accepted the resignation of Mr. Arumugam Thondaman from his cabinet portfolio. A spokesman for Mr. Thondaman confirmed that he had resigned but denied a web news report, which claimed that he had crossed over to the opposition with three other members of the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC). The CWC represents the majority of the Indian Tamil population employed in he plantation sector in central Sri Lanka. Asked to comment, a senior government official claimed, “The Parliamentary crossovers would not affect the day-to-day affairs of the country as the Executive functions are vested with the President under the constitution.” President Kumaratunga was elected in December 1999 for a six-year term.
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