A Sri Lankan ruling party MP on Tuesday defected to the opposition as the government headed for a test of its strength, parliamentary officials said. Legislator Bandula Gunawardena told Parliament that he could no longer work with President Chandrika Kumaratunga's People's Alliance as the minority government had no moral right to rule.

Gunawardena crossed the floor of the house and sat with the Opposition amid loud cheering from opposition ranks and angry protests from government legislators.
The development was a serious blow to Kumaratunga's government, which is set to face a vote of no-confidence on Thursday.
The Opposition has vowed to bring the one-year-old government down with more defections but the ruling party has said it is confident of staving off the ouster move. Bureau Report