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SLFP gets dose of its crossover medicine
By Harinda Vidanage

SLFP-JVP talks last night
A fresh round of talks between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and a JVP delegation on working out a joint programme aimed at ousting the UNF government was in progress last night, party sources said.

At the talks, revived on an invitation by President Kumaratunga, the PA and the JVP were to take up the issue on a common campaign against the government.

The Sunday Times learns that JVP leaders who got the invitation for talks last week had initially said they were busy and could not take up the appointment, but later agreed for Saturday.

The earlier round of talks between the SFLP and the JVP to form an alliance collapsed after the SLFP decided to pull out. Later, the SLFP changed its mind and decided to seek the co-operation of the Marxist party to work out a common programme to campaign against the government.

SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena is taking urgent measures to prevent a group of five MPs from crossing over to the UNF, party sources said yesterday.
The Sunday Times learns that the SLFP General Secretary is keeping in touch with these SLFP MPs and urging them to remain in the party.

The move came amidst claims by the SLFP that some UNF parliamentarians will cross over to the SLFP before the end of the year to defeat the second reading of the budget in parliament, thus toppling the government.

It also came in the wake of PA parliamentarian V. Puthrasigamani's outburst attacking the party leadership\ and expressing support for the Tamil National Alliance. Mr. Puthrasigamani protested against the SLFP's decision to go ahead with the protest rally on Deepavali day.

SLFP sources speculated that among those who are believed to be in the 'crossover' group were Richard Pathirana, who was, not long ago, a vociferous critic of the party leadership, and Colombo District strongman A. H. M. Fowzie.

Mr. Fowzie's son, it is said, has declined to accept the post of SLFP organizer for Colombo North and not responded to an invitation from President Kumaratunga to meet her.

Meanwhile, the SLFP had tried hard to get a UNP MP to speak at its Jana Sena rally on Friday in a bid to herald the UNF crossovers but the plans were changed later, party sources said.

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