Sri Lanka: President Rajapaksa agrees to remove brother as PM, says report
Sri Lanka, April 29: In the midst of the country's worst economic crisis in decades, Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to remove his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime minister.
While Gotabaya has agreed to remove his brother from the prime ministership, Mahinda Rajapaksa also stressed last week that there is no need for him to resign or allow the formation of an interim government of which he was not a part.
In an interview with the Daily Mirror, he also dismissed claims of a rift between him and the President.
He stated, "This is all false. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the President. So, I must always respect him as the President. He may be my younger brother, but that is a different matter. That is a personal relationship. But he is the President and I respect him for that."
He also asserted during this interview that people will vote for him in the next elections because they know "who I am and what I am."
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“I have that confidence. See, those masses are not protesting against me. Just because certain sections are calling on me to go, does not mean those hundreds of thousands who voted for us, want us to go. These protestors alone do not represent the entire population, although their views are also respected," he added.
The dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is not fresh news in Sri Lanka as leaders across party lines have repeatedly stressed that they will participate if the all-party meeting will be held without the presence of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Cabinet.
On Thursday, a delegation of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), one of the ruling Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) constituent parties, further briefed Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay on the current political situation and plans for an interim government arrangement to address the worst economic slowdown.
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-PTC News
