Sri Lanka: Opposition to bring no-trust vote against president

In SriLanka,opposition has decided to bring a no confidence motion against SriLanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa as he fails to address the country in connection with economic policies. According to leader of opposition, Sajith Premadasa, we have called a meeting with all opposition leaders and will take a final decision on it soon. Sri Lanka parliament is set to reconvene on April 19 and the session will be held till April 22, according to reports. "Parliament is scheduled to convene on April 19 at 10.00 am and from 11.00 am to 4.30 pm," an official statement said. 

Meanwhile, Former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has thanked India for the help. "I think India has helped to the maximum. We will have to see, and they are still helping in non-financial ways. So, we have to be thankful to them." He also clarified that "no heavy Chinese investment" has been done under the current dispensation. "They've sought investments but investments haven't come in...I think discussions are on about rescheduling of repayment of loans. They've to talked to the Chinese government, that's all I know." Wickremesinghe also stated that when he was the PM in 2019 the country's economy was in healthy status with capital surplus but the incompetency of the current government has brought the people on the streets. "The dire economic situation has led to the political crisis, and what is happening is a disaster to the country. For two years, this government ignored all the signs of the looming economic issues. I remember when I left the office in 2019 we had a surplus budget and there was enough money to pay (for our imports)," former PM Wickremesinghe said. 

Wickremesinghe charged that the government was not looking after the economy while suggestions were made for going to the IMF in 2020 and 2021. "The government did not go to the IMF on the advice of the central bank and the treasury and the people are now paying the price," he said. He also stated that no Chinese investment under this government has come to the country. Tens of thousands of protesters descended on Sri Lanka streets on Saturday in one of the biggest demonstrations the country has seen. Pressure has been mounting on president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, the prime minister, to resign.