The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress yesterday said that it was still open for discussions with the Government.

SLMC Deputy General Secretary Nizam Kariyappar told ‘The Island’ yesterday, responding to a call by the Sri Lanka Muslim Ulamas Party, a political movement of Muslim clergy, that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress must publicise the conditions and demands it had put forward for joining the government.

"So far, we have not received an invitation. On the contrary, the United National Party has been invited to discussions."

He said for the SLMC to join the Government, the Government in turn should look into basic aspirations of the Muslims.

SLMUP Leader Moulavi Mubarak Abdul Majid told ‘The Island’ yesterday: "the SLMC has announced that it will join the Government and has forwarded conditions. The public have a right to know what those conditions are and it’s the SLMC’s duty to make them public."

He said that the SLMC had continued to function under the UNP and this resulted in a large number of SLMC members leaving the party and joining the Government in the recent past.

"We are happy with the news that the SLMC is once again contemplating joining forces with the Government. But the SLMC’s policy of changing alliances once a year had sullied the image of the Muslim community.