Leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) leader and former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said the decision on re-assuming portfolios will be taken after discussing with the party and that the Muslim MPs were not in any hurry to accept ministerial portfolios.
Bathiudeen made these observations to the media following an event in Colombo.
Referring to the threat by MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero that another no confidence motion against him would be presented to parliament if he re-accepted ministerial portfolios, Bathiudeen charged that all Muslim ministers resigned en masse because they gave priority to the country and not because of any threats of the Thero.
“All of us resigned not because we were scared of the monk, we resigned because we love our country and for the sake of the country,” he said.
“All Muslim ministers resigned together. If we accept the portfolios again, we will do it together. The Muslim community is not responsible for what fanatics like Zahran did. We are opposed to any form of armed conflict,” he further noted.
When questioned about the objections raised by backbench MPs of the United National Party (UNP) over moves to re-appoint him as a Minister, Bathiudeen observed that there is no such objection.
“The Prime Minister is the leader of the UNP and he has said that there was no evidence against me and I have been cleared. Also, we are not UNPers and it does not matter to us,” he said, reiterating that the Muslim MPs were not in any hurry to be are-appointed as ministers and if they are to re-accept portfolios it will be a united decision.
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