Amidst the deep economic crisis in the country, all the ministers of the Sri Lankan cabinet resigned late on Sunday night. However, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has not yet resigned. The country’s Education Minister Dinesh Gunavardhan told reporters that the cabinet ministers resigned from their posts in the late night meeting.
Gunavardhan said all 26 ministers have submitted their resignations except President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother PM Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Earlier in the day, there were reports of Rajapaksa’s resignation, which was later rejected by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The PMO dismissed these reports as false and said that at present there is no such plan.
The resignations come two days after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency as the island nation grapples with rising prices, shortages of essential goods and rolling power cuts. As the protests turned violent, the government imposed a nationwide curfew on Saturday. It has to run till early Monday.
Sri Lanka’s Youth and Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa took to Twitter to announce his resignation. He is the son of Mahinda Rajapaksa.
I have informed the secretary. To the President for my resignation with immediate effect from all departments, hope it may aid the decision of His Excellency and the Prime Minister to establish stability for the people and the Government. #lakaI am committed to my voters, my party and its people. #hambanthota.- Namal Rajapaksa (@RajapaksaNamal) 3 April 2022
The Sri Lankan government blocked social media sites to prevent people from gathering in the capital Colombo to protest the government’s failure. However, the government later lifted the ban after 15 hours. Services were restored on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram and Messenger.
In Colombo on Sunday, some two dozen opposition leaders stopped at police barricades en route to Independence Square, some chanting ‘Gota (Baya) Go Home’. “This is unacceptable,” said opposition leader Eran Wickramaratne, leaning on the barricades. “It’s a democracy.”
Small groups in Colombo stood outside their homes to protest, some holding handwritten banners, others with the national flag.
Critics said the roots of the crisis, the worst in several decades, lie in economic mismanagement by successive governments, which accumulated huge budget shortfalls and a current account deficit. Rajapaksa intensified the crisis with deep tax cuts implemented during the 2019 election campaign and months before the Covid-19 pandemic, which wiped out parts of Sri Lanka’s economy.
(with agency input)
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