The differences between President Chandrika Kumaratunga's People's Alliance and its ally, the Marxist JVP, were no longer restricted to the handling of the peace drive, the privately run Sunday Island reported.

"Our differences are sharp and growing," the Island quoted a JVP spokesman as saying.

The state-run Sunday Observer said the JVP "appeared to be perturbed" over Kumaratunga appointing two more cabinet ministers and expanding the cabinet to 37 although the original agreement was to limit the number to 35.

Political sources said other differences included key appointments to head state organisations.

The JVP decided at a meeting Thursday to lodge a protest with the president over alleged violations of their agreements, sources in the Marxist party said.

Kumaratunga joined hands with the JVP to topple the government of Ranil Wickremesinghe after accusing him of conceding too much to Tamil Tiger rebels during Norwegian-brokered peace talks.

The leftist alliance narrowly won the April 2 election but lacks a simple majority in the 225-member parliament where the joint opposition is larger than government benches.

The government lost a crucial election last month for the post of parliamentary speaker which went to Wickremesinghe's main opposition United National Party.

The ruling coalition was divided on the handling of the peace process even before the election, but had cobbled together a broadly defined agreement on ending the Tamil separatist conflict which has claimed over 60,000 lives since 1972.

Kumaratunga's party advocates granting limited autonomy to minority Tamils while her JVP partners insist that there should be no devolution of power, only a decentralisation of the civil administration.