'President must step down': Sri Lankans stage protest against govt amid economic crisis

Colombo (Sri Lanka), April 4: People of Sri Lanka on Monday staged a protest at Independence Square in Colombo against the government and voiced their demand for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. During the protest, Fatima, one of the protestors and a writer said that "We are protesting as we want our President to step down. Our economy has collapsed. We have no food to eat. We do not have cash. We do not have power." "The economy has crashed now. We want our president to return all the money from the Rajapaksa family. These families have stolen from us and we want the Rajapaksa family to go away from the country. Actually, not only from the country, they should be behind the bars," she further stated. Vijanta Mishra, a law student said, "We have been fed up. Since they came to power, they have not given anything except failed promises. Earlier, they told us that they will fulfil the promises in the country. Nothing has been done." Also Read | Punjab Police felicitates 404 personnel on their birthdays "We are facing an economic crisis. No fuel is there in the country. There is no security in the country. No basic human rights. There are no options for them to go away to their home or else there will be no home in the country," she said. Sri Lanka is currently facing a catastrophic economic crisis. On Sunday, 26 Sri Lankan cabinet ministers resigned en masse amid mounting public outrage over the government's handling of the country's economic crisis. All 26 of them signed a letter consenting to resign, paving the way for the formation of a new Cabinet. Mahinda Rajapaksa will remain in office, and all other Cabinet members have submitted their resignations to the Prime Minister. The government of Sri Lanka barred access to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube on Saturday, but lifted the restriction on Sunday afternoon when the PM's son Namal Rajapaksa spoke against it. Also Read | CM Gehlot slams Centre over Karauli violence, urges PM Modi to address issue -PTC News