SLMC demands CM post as dowry for political marriage

by Ranil Dharmasena Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Deputy Secretary Nizam Kariappar yesterday said his party was ready to enter into an electoral pact with any party which would offer it the Chief Ministerial post after the forthcoming polls for the East.
The SLMC leader Rauff Hakim had already had discussions with Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa and informed him of this stance, Kariapper told The Island yesterday.
If the SLMC contested the election as a single party, it could muster a large number of votes, and it was therefore reasonable to demand the CM post, he said.
Among the other demands laid down by the SLMC are stakes in proposed development projects for the eastern province, disarming the armed groups and endorsement of SLMC policies related to the functioning of the Council, he said.
"In case both the UPFA and the UNP don’t agree with our conditions, then we will go it alone," Kariappar said.