Sri Lanka Political Crisis: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to hold crucial meeting with 41 MPs

International

oi-Deepika S

Colombo, Apr 10: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be holding a crucial meeting with 41 MPs who recently quit the ruling dispensation, in a bid to chalk out a solution to the current economic, political and social crisis, the country is facing.

The meeting between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and President Rajapaksa would take place at 7.00 pm tonight, reported Daily Mirror.

The main objective of the meeting was to coerce President Rajapaksa to form an interim administration under an all-party Cabinet sans Rajapaksas with the least number of portfolios, former President and SLFP leader Maithripala Siriserna told Daily Mirror.

“Before the interim administration is set up, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution must be re-introduced with added powers to curtail the executive powers of the executive presidency,” he added.

A massive anti-government street protest demanding Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation has gathered momentum with over 10,000 demonstrators protesting at the Galle Face Green urban park amidst the unprecedented economic crisis in the island nation.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the UK in 1948. People have been protesting for weeks over lengthy power cuts and shortage of gas, food and other basic goods.

The mass scale street protests began after a gathering opposite Rajapaksa’s private home was tear gassed on March 31 when several people were arrested and later granted bail. Since then, the protesters have surrounded the homes of parliamentarians at different places.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is scheduled to start talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on April 11. The talks would lead to a possible bailout, including assistance on restructuring foreign debt.