Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga criticised her Prime Minister on Saturday for a pact forged with hardline Marxists, exposing a rift that could cost him in the upcoming polls.In a telephone interview to the Daily Mirror Kumaratunga slammed PM Mahinda Rajapaksa—her ruling party’s presidential candidate—for violating party policy. She also accused him of keeping her in the dark about negotiations with the Marxist People’s Liberation Front (JVP), saying Rajapaksa only informed her about the deal an hour before it was signed.Kumaratunga has never in the past given telephone interviews. Her office declined to confirm her comments.Rajapaksa signed the 13-point agreement with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) on Thursday. The Marxists gave Rajapaksa their backing, in return for a tougher stance on the LTTE. The JVP, which quit the President’s ruling alliance in June over a deal to share $3 billion in tsunami aid with the rebels, also wants Rajapaksa to ditch the plan.The Marxists also demand a review of whether Norway should continue to act as mediator in efforts to turn the 2002 ceasefire into permanent peace.
