President Chandrika Kumaratunga had rejected suggestions that she initiates fence mending discussions with Ministers G. L. Peiris and S. B. Dissanayake at a meeting of the PA’s Executive Committee held at President’s House last week, well informed political sources said.

"She said there was no point in having any talks with them and she will do the needful at the right time," these sources said. "Clearly, the breaking point had been reached."

The suggestion that an effort be made to bring back the two senior ministers, increasingly distanced from the president in recent weeks, had come from the LSSP’s Batty Weerakoon.

The Exco had adopted a resolution proposed by Mr. Richard Pathirana and seconded by Dew Gunasekera of the Communist Party and Mr. Rauff Hakeem and his SLMC group be expelled from the PA.

However, it was decided not to make this decision public as discussions were on.

At this meeting, Ministers Batty Weerakoon and Nimal Siripala de Silva had strongly urged that parliament should not meet on Sept. 7 and should be prorogued a second time, these sources said.

But there had been another point of view that parliament should meet as already proclaimed and that the president, occupying the Speaker’s chair, adjourn proceedings till October 10.