Md. Ashraful Islam: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has reportedly resigned amid mounting protests.
The prime minister sent his resignation letter to the president on Monday, Reuters reported, citing an official in the country.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the younger brother of Prime Minister Mahinda. Opposition parties in Sri Lanka have been blaming both of them for the country’s worst financial crisis since independence.
Opposition parties have stated that because of the economic mismanagement, Sri Lanka has been drowned in debts and the reserve has now its floor.
Thousands of people in the Indian Ocean island nation have been protesting for weeks, demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya and Prime Minister Mahinda.
On Monday, supporters of the ruling party attacked a key protest rally in the country’s capital, Colombo. Soon after, the news of the resignation of the Prime Minister came. The resignation of the Prime Minister could pave the way for the formation of a new cabinet in the troubled country.
According to the Sri Lankan Daily Mirror, in a special meeting on Friday, President Gotabaya asked Prime Minister Mahinda to resign to resolve the political crisis in the country, and his elder brother responded within days.
Now that the prime minister has resigned, President Gotabaya is expected to invite all political parties in parliament to form an all-party cabinet.
Earlier, the opposition SJB party confirmed that their leader Sajith Premadasa would not be taking over as prime minister in the interim government.
On Monday morning, a group of supporters of the ruling party gathered in front of the Prime Minister’s residence and started chanting slogans urging the Prime Minister not to resign. Then they had a meeting with Prime Minister Mahinda. After the meeting, they marched and attacked the anti-government protesters in front of the president’s office.
They broke through police barricades and hurled sticks and iron pipes at protesters. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the attackers.
According to the BBC, a curfew has been imposed across the country following the attack on supporters of the ruling party. At least 20 people have been injured in clashes near the offices of the president and prime minister in Colombo.
At least six people were injured in Monday’s violence, according to a local hospital.
