Ceylon Workers' Congress quits Rajapaksa govt

Colombo, Aug 2 (UNI) The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC), a key trade union cum Tamil political party, today said it had withdrawn support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) over difference of opinion.

''We quit the government today by resigning all our ministerial portfolios due to a difference of opinion,'' Senior Vice President of the CWC, R Yogarajan told UNI over the phone, adding that the resignation letters have been handed over to the President's Secretary this evening.

The CWC, which represent over 500,000 Indian-origin plantation workers in the Central Province, opposed President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the Presidential election in November 2005, but joined his government later.

CWC leader Arumugan Thondaman became a cabinet minister while the remaining four members became Deputy Ministers in the Rajapaksa government last year.

The Tamil party quitting the government, however, will not affect the absolute majority of the ruling coalition in the 225-member Parliament as it still has the support 120 MPs from other parties.

''Now we are not part of the government and independent to decide to whether or not to support the government in Parliament in future,'' Mr Yogarajan said.

The CWC, on a previous occasion also had threatened to withdraw its support to the Rajapaksa government, but later sorted out the differences.

UNI