President Maithripala Sirisena and his party, the SLFP, is now facing a fresh crisis as the party is sharply divided over the question whether it should leave the government. 

When the latter was raised at the Central Committee meeting yesterday, a sizable proportion of members said the party must sit in the opposition and continue to support the President. 

However, General Secretaries of the SLFP and the UPFA, ministers Duminda Dissanayake and Mahinda Amaraweera, have flatly refused the udea. They had opined that the SLFP must continue to be in the government. 

As there was no final agreement over the matter, the Central Committee meeting, which lasted for more than three hours, ended inconclusively. 

Before the meeting ended, the SLFP ministers decided to boycott the Cabinet meeting chaired by their own leader, President Maithripala Sirisena. 

Commenting on the matter, a Cabinet member representing the SLFP said the decision was made with the consent of the President.