Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, April 5: Almost on the brink of bankruptcy, the political crisis in the island nation of Sri Lanka deepened further on Tuesday with the finance minister Ali Sabry quitting his post within a day of taking over and before negotiating a bail out deal with the International Monetary Fund and the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition losing its majority in Parliament after at least 41 lawmakers walked out of the alliance amidst street protests all over the country.
While the ruling party’s former allies demanded the President’s resignation following days of protests over the island nation’s crippling economic crisis, Sabry said in his resignation letter he believed he had “acted in the best interests of the country.”
Sabry, a former education minister, who resigned as the finance minister a day after he was sworn in to handle the country’s crisis-ridden economy, in his resignation letter said, “At this crucial juncture the country needs stability to weather the current financial crisis and difficulties.”
Street demonstrations against the shortages, triggered by a lack of foreign exchange for imports, began last month but have intensified in recent days, leading to clashes between protesters and police in some instances.
The president after being rebuffed by the opposition to join his “Unity Cabinet” after he had sought the resignation all of his 26 ministers excluding the prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, his elder brother, had appointed four new ministers including Sabry on Monday.
Sri Lanka’s opposition on Monday had dismissed Rajapaksa’s invitation to join a unity government as “nonsensical” and instead demanded his resignation over the country’s worsening shortages of food, fuel and medicines. Deputy Parliament Speaker Ranjith Siyambalapitiya resigned as the Parliament reconvened on Tuesday for the first time after the state of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka amidst growing demands for the Rajapaksa government’s resignation.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday that it was monitoring political and economic developments in Sri Lanka “very closely” as public unrest in the island nation grows amid its worst economic crisis in decades. There have been mass public agitations against the ruling Rajapaksa family for its mishandling of the economic situation triggered by the foreign exchange crisis and the balance of payment issues.
The country’s central bank governor Ajith Cabraal stepped down on Monday after the cabinet quit to make way for a new administration to manage the spiralling economic crisis. At least 41 Sri Lankan lawmakers walked out of the ruling coalition on Tuesday, leaving the government of President Rajapaksa in a minority in Parliament.
Names of the 41 lawmakers to leave the coalition were announced by party leaders in parliament. They have now become independent members, leaving Rajapaksa’s government with fewer than the 113 members needed to maintain a majority in the 225-member house. The ruling coalition, which had won 150 seats in the 2020 general elections and went on to increase its numbers through defections from the Opposition, on Tuesday appeared to be reduced to 109, four less than the number required for simple majority. Among those who quit the coalition were members of former president Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and others from the 11 coalition partners.
The government, however, claimed that it commands the simple majority though there has been no vote count yet and Rajapaksa’s minority government could find decision-making more challenging. Independent parliamentarians, however, could continue to support government proposals in the house. “There are endless shortages of essentials including fuel and cooking gas. Hospitals are on the verge of closing because there are no medicines,” Maithripala Sirisena, leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party that withdrew its support for Rajapaksa’s coalition, told parliament. “At such a time our party is on the side of the people.”
On Sunday night, all 26 ministers aside from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa stepped down. After the protests intensified, Internet service providers were ordered to block access to social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and YouTube. The social media curbs were lifted in the second half of Sunday.
The country is facing severe shortages of food, fuel and other essentials — along with record inflation and crippling power cuts — in its most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948. The Colombo Stock Exchange’s All-Share Index jumped about 6% as lawmakers made their positions clear inside parliament.
Sirisena, together with other lawmakers, called on the president and the prime minister to present a clear plan to find a resolution for Sri Lanka’s financial mess. But opposition parties – reflecting the mood of a wave of protests sweeping the country of 22 million people – urged the two brothers to step down. A third brother, Basil Rajapaksa, quit as finance minister on Sunday.
The opposition parties have rejected the move to form a unity government comprising all parties represented in parliament. “There should not be a voice that is contrary to the voice on the streets. And the voice is that there should be change,” said Sajith Premadasa, leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, Sri Lanka’s main opposition alliance. “What the people want is for this president and the entire government to step down.”
A small group of people protested near parliament, as police stood guard with tear gas and water cannons. “If the government loses its majority, you could see the opposition bringing in a vote of no confidence but there is parliamentary procedure that goes around it first and is unlikely to happen immediately,” said legal experts said.
Sri Lanka has decided to temporarily close its embassies in Oslo (Norway) and Baghdad (Iraq) and its Consulate General in Sydney, Australia with effect from April 30. According to a government statement, the decision was taken following ‘careful deliberation.’ The government stated that it is ‘part of a general restructuring of Sri Lanka’s diplomatic representation at overseas, undertaken by the Foreign Ministry in the context of the current economic situation and foreign currency constraints faced by the country.’
Commenting on Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, Shiv Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut, MP, said, “Sri Lanka’s condition is very worrisome. India is on that path. We have to handle it otherwise our condition will be worse than Sri Lanka. Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal chief minister) has also said to call for an all-party meeting under PM Modi’s leadership,” he said.
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