In the violence that sparked in Sri Lanka amid the continuous economic hardships faced by the people forcing PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign on May 9, the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party’s leader Maheepala Herath’s house was set ablaze in Kegalle and SLPP MP Kanchana Wijesekara’s house was attacked in Matara.
Notably, in the wake of the severe discontent faced by the ruling dispensation against the ruling party, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 9 had to step down and tender his resignation.
Effective immediately I have tendered my resignation as Prime Minister to the President.
අගමැති ධූරයෙන් ඉල්ලා අස්වීමේ ලිපිය ජනාධිපතිතුමා වෙත යොමු කළෙමි. — Mahinda Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa) May 9, 2022
Earlier according to some media outlets in Sri Lanka, the President of the nation urged PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to step down, however, the latter refuted reports of denying any such request and hence there was no question of stepping down.
According to PTI, the PM Mahinda Rajapaksa younger brother was also of the opinion that the PM should leave office but had not directly communicated the same.
The PM has stepped down after deliberating comprehensively with the leaders of the SLPP and its allies. The influential Buddhist clergy had pressurised for the dismantling of the entire cabinet to make way for an interim government to take charge.
In a massive upsurge of public wrath against Rajapaksa, the people on Sunday called him names as they were demanding fuel, cooking gas and an end to power cuts. The protestors have called on the entire Rajapaksa family to abandon Sri Lankan politics and return the alleged stolen assets.
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son leaves country
According to a Daily Mirror report, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son Yoshitha Rajapaksa and his wife, boarded a flight from Bandaranaike International Airport, bound for an unknown destination.
Sri Lanka’s unfolding political and economic crises
The Island nation fell into a major political crisis on April 3, 2022, when 26 members of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa cabinet except PM Rajapaksa resigned altogether overnight. The country currently is in major soup and struggling to meet the most essential requirements for its 22 million citizens amid an unprecedented economic crisis caused by financial mishandling and wrongly timed tax cuts.
The extreme shortage of foreign exchange has left the nation wanting for food, fuel, power, and gas. Thus, the island nation has sought the help of neighbouring countries.
IMAGE: ANI (Representative)
