Sri Lankan PM to issue special statement amid severe economic crisis

Colombo (Sri Lanka), April 11: Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa will make a special statement on Monday evening, the PM Office said in a statement. This comes at a time when the government is facing protests asking the PM and President to step down over the escalating issues in the island nation. People in the country continue to protest against the government as the country faces a severe economic crisis. "This protest will not end until this government is brought down. We will stay here for months, years. It's not about a single-family but the entire corrupt system," a protester remarked. Meanwhile, the meeting that took place between President Gottabaya Rajapaksa and former President Maithripala Srisena-led Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), to discuss the political and economic crisis affecting the country, ended inconclusively on Sunday. "The main objective of the meeting is to coerce President Rajapaksa to form an interim administration under an all-party cabinet sans Rajapaksas with the least number of portfolios," Srisena had said. Also Read | Clash between JNU student groups over non-veg food on Ram Navami, several injured However, the two sides did not reach any conclusion on the formation of an interim government and agreed to have another round of discussions after the New Year holiday, according to the reports. Earlier, in the midst of the country's ongoing economic crisis, eleven coalition allies of the Sri Lankan government and an independent group of former ruling party parliamentarians led by Anura Priyadarshana Yapa wrote to President Rajapaksa on Friday, requesting the removal of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the formation of a new cabinet led by a new PM. The letter was signed by the President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), former President Maithripala Sirisena, Member of Parliament (MP) Vasudeva Nanayakkara, MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and President's Counsel Wijayadasa Rajapaksha on behalf of the 42 MPs who left the government and sat in Parliament as an independent group. The letter also urged the President to work with the newly appointed Prime Minister and Cabinet to convene elections within a limited time. Also Read | India logs 861 new Covid-19 cases, 6 deaths in 24 hours -PTC News