Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is learnt to have responded positively to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s request to him to quit in the face of the deepening economic crisis along with the imposition of the state of emergency in the island nation.
As per reports, at a special cabinet meeting at the Presiden’s House, headed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mahinda Rajapaksa agreed to resign from his post as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, reported the Colombo Page.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror newspaper on Sunday quoted sources as it reported that Srilankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa has refused to resign saying he had the majority support in Parliament while the President has been privately urging him to resign.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Sri Lankan government is currently struggling to meet basic requirements for its population of 22 million citizens amid an unprecedented economic crisis caused by mishandling of finances and ill-timed tax cuts.
The island nation is also currently facing a foreign exchange deficit, which has resulted in food, fuel, power, and gas shortages, and has sought economic assistance from friendly countries. Meanwhile, people in the island nation have been protesting nearly for a month demanding for the government, led by the Rajapaksa family, resign.
Despite mounting pressure, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa have refused to quit.
On Thursday, they won a key election in Parliament when their candidate convincingly won the race for the post of Deputy Speaker.
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