Colombo: Ali Sabri, who took over as the new Finance Minister of Sri Lanka the day before yesterday, has resigned the day after taking office again. Moreover, MPs led by former President Maithripala Sirisena, who had been supporting the ruling coalition, have decided to withdraw their support. The crisis has escalated for the Sri Lankan president and prime minister. The government led by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is losing ground.
Following the 2019 general elections in neighboring Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka People’s Alliance government led by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa took over. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the brother of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, took over as Prime Minister. Another brother, Basil Rajapaksa, took over as finance minister.
People are suffering
Mahinda’s son Namal Rajapaksa has been appointed Minister of Youth and Sports. The Rajapaksa family holds all the positions of power in Sri Lanka. The prices of essential commodities have gone up many times over. There is a shortage of petrol and diesel. People across the country are suffering from hours of power cuts.
As the situation escalated, the public besieged his house and staged a protest, demanding the ‘resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’.
Following this, the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency in Sri Lanka and issued an order on the 1st at midnight. Opposition parties have strongly condemned the move. The decision has intensified popular protests. As a result, 26 cabinet ministers, apart from President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, recently resigned.
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa planned to overcome the country’s economic crisis and recover from this predicament by forming a joint cabinet comprising all party members. In this he called on the Internet, all party members. Opposition groups called for the beleagured PM to resign.
Meanwhile, GL Peiris of the Mahinda Rajapaksa party took over as Foreign Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena as Education Minister and Johnston Fernando as Highways Minister the day before yesterday.
Political chaos
Basil Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan finance minister and the president’s brother, has been the subject of resentment among Sri Lankan PA leaders. Following this, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa abruptly sacked Basil Rajapaksa the day before yesterday. Ali Sabri, the former law minister, abruptly resigned as finance minister yesterday.
In his resignation letter to President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, he said: “After much thought and consultation, I have decided to resign considering the current situation.
Appropriate interim arrangements should be made to deal with the crisis that the country has never encountered before. With the appointment of a new finance minister, the country needs a completely different course of action, the letter said.
Former President and Sri Lanka Freedom Party leader Maithripala Sirisena has decided to withdraw support for the ruling coalition government due to the political turmoil in Sri Lanka. Following this, 14 MPs from his party said they would withdraw their support for President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
Dissatisfied MPs
Disgruntled MPs said 27 other members of the coalition had decided to withdraw their support.
To prove a minimum majority of 225 seats in Sri Lanka Barley., The support of 113 members is required.
At present, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is said to have the support of only 109 members. Thus, the Sri Lankan government led by the Rajapaksa brothers is in danger of losing its majority.
All party meeting!
An all party meeting was held in Colombo yesterday to find a lasting solution to the current crisis in Sri Lanka. President Gotabhaya and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa also participated. In it, it was decided to hold a debate in Parliament today and tomorrow to discuss the economic crisis.
Closing of supplies
The Sri Lankan government has decided to close Sri Lankan embassies in Sydney, Australia, Baghdad, Iraq and Oslo, Norway to reduce the financial burden due to the economic crisis.