Colombo: The Sri Lankan government’s efforts to quell popular unrest following the severe financial crisis have not borne fruit. Opposition parties have rejected President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s invitation to join the proposed coalition government. The opposition accused the move of being fraudulent. As soon as the president’s proposal came, the United People’s Force, the largest opposition party, rejected it. Party leader Sajith Premadasa said that a new political model was needed and not just a change of leadership. The Tamil People’s Alliance and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress have stated they will not join the government.
The ministers resigned en masse yesterday as people protested against the government in violation of the state of emergency and curfew. Following this, four ministers were sworn in. No one from the Rajapaksa family. The president’s brother, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, has been ousted. Ali Sabri, a former law and parliamentary minister, is the new finance minister. G.L. Peiris will continue as foreign minister. The government has announced that all parties represented in parliament will have ministries. The move comes after discussions with his elder brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The move comes amid growing public anger over the financial crisis. Basil Rajapaksa’s resignation comes as he prepares to travel to the U.S. to meet with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a possible bailout package. On Sunday night, all 26 ministers except Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned. Despite rumors that Mahinda Rajapaksa had resigned, the PM’s office denied the allegations.
Meanwhile, Central Bank Governor Ajit Nivard Cabral has also announced his resignation. He revealed that he had submitted his resignation from the post of governor in the wake of the resignation of all the ministers.
Earlier, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party had written to the president saying he would leave the ruling party if the national government was not formed within a week.