Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to form interim government: Details here
To solve the political impasse ailing Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday agreed to form an interim government without his older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as the PM. Gotabaya reportedly asked his ruling Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) coalition's dissidents to hold discussions with the Opposition parties in this regard. He also met with ex-President Maithripala Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) on Friday.
Why does this story matter?
The island country has been experiencing violent protests over inflation, severe food shortages, and crippling power outages in the most distressing economic crisis since its independence in 1948. Nationwide inflation in Sri Lanka jumped to 21.5% in March, according to official data. Prices of necessities including medicines, milk powder, cooking gas, and fuel have also skyrocketed, leading to protests demanding the Rajapaksas step down.
Sri Lankan citizens want entire Rajapaksa family to resign
President Gotabaya met with a delegation from SLFP, a party led by former president Sirisena, on Friday. The delegation reportedly demanded that an interim government be formed. The president also met a dissident group, which had moved away from the ruling SLPP coalition, over the matter. However, Sri Lankan citizens have lost confidence in the entire Rajapaksa family and have called for their resignation.
All political parties to be part of interim government
Maithripala Sirisena on Friday said Gotabaya agreed to form an interim government comprising all political parties of the country. A National Council will also be formed and all decisions, including naming a new PM, will be taken after its members reach an agreement. Notably, Sirisena made it clear Mahinda won't be part of the interim government, adding a new cabinet will comprise 20 members.
Gotabaya had claimed MPs were supporting Mahinda
Gotabaya agreeing to remove Mahinda as the PM is surprising because, on Thursday, he claimed his brother enjoys the support of the majority of MPs. Earlier on April 23, a Mahinda also dismissed calls to form an interim government and said if at all such a government is formed, he would lead it. However, neither Gotabaya nor Mahinda have officially made any announcement yet.
People need to be patient: Mahinda
Last week, Mahinda questioned the use of "interim governments when people with varying policies can't see eye to eye." He was speaking to radio station Neth FM, reported The Indian Express. He had also said that people need to be patient amid the ongoing economic crisis in the country. "They can keep on protesting if they don't want to have talks," he had said.
