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Cooray to quit, but back to cabinet
President Chandrika Kumaratunga has written to Western Provincial Council Chief Minister Reginold Cooray, asking him to resign his post and offered him a seat in Parliament.

Mr. Cooray disclosed this to his WPC staff and advised them to find employment elsewhere since he would not be there for a long time. President Kumaratunga's request to Mr. Cooray follows her failure to persuade the JVP not to back a UNP-sponsored no-confidence motion against her handpicked chief minister.

UPFA sources say President Kumaratunga has asked national list MP Wijedasa Rajapakse to resign his seat to make way for Mr. Cooray who is to be later sworn in as a Cabinet Minister. Mr. Cooray is due to make a statement on his resignation when the council reconvenes on June 7 and is likely to hand over his resignation to Governor Alavi Moulana on June 15.

The move came as the council's UNP Opposition was preparing to hand over affidavits to the Governor on Tuesday, stating that they had lost confidence in the chief minister and calling for his removal.

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