As Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to retire amid continued protests, the opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has declared that its leader Sajith Premadasa will not accept the job of Prime Minister in an interim government.
This comes at a critical time, since Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is said to have accepted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s plea to resign in the face of the country’s increasing economic crisis.
SJB National Organizer Tissa Attsnayake, while speaking with the Sri Lankan media outlet, said, “Premadasa will not accept premiership of an interim government but SJB will give conditional support for an interim government.”
“We will only support an interim government which will carry out proposals made by Bar Association of Sri Lanka,” he added.
SJB presented the speaker with two no-confidence motions against the President and Prime Minister. “It will now be evident who is betraying the people’s demands,” Premadasa predicted.
Premadasa had previously stated that the current government is “reckless” and had brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy. He stated that this was the first time in Sri Lanka’s history that such a situation has arisen.
After a devastating strike and protest over the external debt for the second time in five weeks, Sri Lanka imposed a state of emergency on Friday.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is experiencing severe food and power shortages, requiring it to seek assistance from its neighbours. Foreign exchange problems caused by a tourism ban during the COVID-19 pandemic are blamed for the slump. The country is unable to purchase sufficient fuel and gas, and its citizens are without basic necessities.
The economic condition has sparked widespread protests, with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa being called to quit.
Aryan Jakhar works as an Editor-in-Chief at The Shining Media. Also, he is an editor at YouthPolitician (digital media situated in Taiwan). He writes his opinions on social issues at YouthKiAwaaz and also on his blogger website.
