Asian Mirror is now in a position to reveal that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) will leave the government within the next 48 hours.

Speaking to Asian Mirror a short while ago, a senior spokesman of the party said it has already decided to pledge support to Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena.

“However,” he said, “there are two or three people who believe that the party should remain with the government. They can make their own decision and leave the party. But, the SLMC has arrived at a collective decision to support Maithripala Sirisena.”

It is learnt that the SLMC will announce their decision within the next two days and officially join the political campaign of the opposition. Prior to that, the SLMC MPs will resign from all their portfolios in the government. Party Leader Rauff Hakeem holds a senior ministerial portfolio in the UPFA government as the Minister of Justice.

However, it is in the grapevine that two or three Parliamentarians of the SLMC will stay in the government and continue to support President Mahinda Rajapaksa, defying the decision made by the party.

When asked about this, SLMC Media Spokesman Nizam Kariyappar that as far as he knows, the SLMC is yet to make the decision on the matter.

But multiple sources from the party confirmed Asian Mirror that the SLMC has made a firm decision to leave the UPFA government.