Colombo, July 12: Sri Lanka's former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is the youngest brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was stopped from boarding a flight to Dubai on Monday evening, the local media reported.
Basil Rajapaksa reportedly attempted to leave Sri Lanka amid the ongoing economic crisis in the country, but airport immigration officials refused to let him leave the country following the protests by passengers, Daily Mirror reported.
Also Read | World Population Day 2022: India to surpass China as world's most populous country, claims UN report
[caption id="attachment_666229" align="aligncenter" width="750"]
Basil Rajapaksa[/caption]
Upon immigration officials' refusal, Basil Rajapaksa had to return without being able to proceed, the report added. This development comes a day after Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena clarified that Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still in the country, soon after reports emerged that the President has left the island nation.
Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa, who announced his resignation on Saturday, was earlier said to have fled and was in a third country.
"President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still in the country, I made a mistake in the (BBC) interview," Speaker Abeywardena was reported as saying.
[caption id="attachment_666228" align="aligncenter" width="750"]
Upon immigration officials' refusal, Basil Rajapaksa had to return without being able to proceed.[/caption]
When asked further about the whereabouts of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lankan President, the speaker said both of them were still in the country. The development comes after thousands of people stormed into the President's House in Fort on Saturday. The dramatic visuals came from PM's official residence where they were seen playing carrom board, sleeping on the sofa, enjoying in park premises and preparing food for dinner.
Also Read | 94-year-old Bhagwani Devi clinches medals at World Masters Athletics Championships
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also announced to step down from his posts amid the ongoing protests. However, the protesters who have occupied the residences of the President and Prime Minister have cleared that they will continue to occupy their houses until they resign from their posts.
[caption id="attachment_666227" align="aligncenter" width="750"]
The worsening economic crisis in Sri Lanka has led to increasing tensions and over the last few weeks.[/caption]
The worsening economic crisis in Sri Lanka has led to increasing tensions and over the last few weeks, there were reports of several confrontations between individuals and members of the police force and the armed forces at fuel stations where thousands of desperate members of the public have queued for hours and sometimes days.
Worst-ever economic crisis
Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948, which comes on the heels of successive waves of COVID-19, threatening to undo years of development progress.
The oil supply shortage has forced schools and government offices to close until further notice. Reduced domestic agricultural production, a lack of foreign exchange reserves, and local currency depreciation, have fuelled the shortages. The economic crisis will push families into hunger and poverty - some for the first time - adding to the half a million people who the World Bank estimates have fallen below the poverty line because of the pandemic.
-PTC News
