Sept 19, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe says the Muslim party, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), has given priority to safeguarding their ministerial positions in the government and the provincial council.

He told a press conference that when faced with deciding between the breaking of mosques and safeguarding their ministerial positions, the SLMC has opted for the latter.

He explained that it was a ploy by the SLMC to contest the Eastern Province separately since they knew the governing party did not have a lot of votes in the East.

"The SLMC used the anti-government stance to get the people to vote for the party," he added.

According to Wickremasinghe, the SLMC had reached an agreement with the government before contesting the Eastern Provincial Council election separately that they would join the governing party once the election concluded.

"It was all an act. The SLMC pretended to be against the government to get the votes. The SLMC did not have any intention of leaving the government," he said. He noted that the Muslim community in the East should understand that the SLMC had misled them.