Minister Fernandopulle and at least 13 others, including two leading sports personalities, were killed at a marathon event in Gampaha

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, PM Rathnasiri Wickramanayake, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe and MPs paid last respects to the slain minister as his body was taken to the parliament on Monday.

The minister and 13 others were killed at a suicide blast in Weliweriya on Sunday. The government accused the Tamil Tigers of carrying out the attack.

Speaking with BBC Sandeshaya, PM Wickramanayake accused the LTTE of systematically assasinating senior leaders of Sri Lanka.

Right to live

The international community should understand the LTTE campaign is a violation of the basic right to live, the PM added.

Leaders representing all political parties and communities have strongly condemend the killing

"The LTTE's campaign is to create a desert without leaders to rule," he told BBC's Elmo Fernando at the parliamentary complex.

Transport minister, Dulles Alahapperuma, said the government should focus on educating the world of the real impact of terrorism.

The main opposition, United National Party (UNP), said the assasination proved that the government's strategy on resolving the national question was wrong.

Government strategy wrong

Condemning the assasination, UNP General Secretary, Tissa Attanayake, urged the government to restart negotiations with the LTTE.

The Buddhist-monk led Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) called on Sri Lankans to stop all ceremonies to mark the Sinhala and Hindu New Year.

JHU leader, Ellawala Medhananda thero, said people should send Kevum to soldiers in the war front, instead of "wasting money for silly things".

Strongly condemend the attack, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarians called for strong action against terrorism.

International 'conspiracy'

JVP parliamentary group leader, Wimal Weerawansa, said the need of the hour is to defeat a "conspiracy" in which soem foreign forces are also involved.

Nandana Gunathilake, a dissiden JVP leader, told BBCSinhala.com that the country has lost a "brave leader" who was not afraid of expressing his honest opinion "even against foreign diplomats".

The parties representing Sri Lanka's minorities also paid tribute to the late minister.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), a party that accepts LTTE as sole representative of Sri Lanka's Tamils, condemned the attack.

Offering 'oxygen' to LTTE

TNA leader R Sambanthan told BBC's Elmo Fernando at the parliamentary complex that all killings, irrespective of who carried out the attack, must be stopped.

Losing a Tamil leader will seriously affect the ruling party's attempts in resolving the national question, Sri Lanka Muslim congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem said.

Sri Lanka Communist Party (CP) leader, Minister DEW Gunasekara, said warned that political killings might increase as the war intensifies.

Left Front statement

The Tamil Tigers will get "more oxygen", he said, as long as the govcernment fail to come up with a political solution.

In a statement, the Left Front has meanwhile called for the government and the LTTE to stop the war and restart negotiations.

"This tragedy is another event created by the brutal conditions in the society. The government, of which Minister Fernandopulle was a leading member, is the main actor responsible for the barbaric conditions that developed in the recent times," the statement said.