Sri Lanka PM Mahinda Rajapaksa Says He Won't Resign, Denies Reports Of Rift With President Gotabaya

Amid reports of a rift between Sri Lanka's ruling Rajapaksa brothers, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday said that they are on the same page and that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has not asked him to resign. 

The comment came amid reports that Gotabaya has written to the leaders of political parties affiliated with the government that they could meet on Friday and discuss on an all-party government that can be formed after Mahinda and his cabinet resigned.

Sri Lanka is currently going through its worst financial crisis caused by an acute shortage of foreign exchange. The country is short of fuel and cooking gas and prices of all goods, including food, have risen in recent weeks. The country is also facing long power cuts as the country is short of fuel to produce thermal power. Earlier in April, the Sri Lankan government said it would temporarily default on its $35.5 billion in foreign debt. 

Earlier this month, Gotabaya had to drop his older brother Chamal and the eldest nephew Namal from the cabinet in response to the ongoing protests which called for accountability from the powerful ruling family and their inability to address the ongoing crisis.

Gotabaya is under increasing pressure to form an interim government. He had said that he would hand over the government to any group that could muster 113 seats in the 225-member Parliament but would not step down from the presidency.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa also last week stressed that there was no need for him to resign or to allow the formation of an interim government without his leadership. 

In an interview to the Daily Mirror newspaper, he said, "This is all false. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the President. So I must always respect him as the President. He maybe 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. 

"Like everyone else we also argue, even in the cabinet we argue. But our arguments stop there. He is the President and I am the Prime Minister and we are on the same page. If there are arguments between both of us, we cannot continue to function as President and Prime Minister. It is not good for the country.

"So there is nothing of that sort what you have said in your question. We are able to sit together and discuss all the present issues and reach agreements on how to move forward."

Addressing a meeting with local government members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna amidst growing demand for his resignation as well as that of his from anti-government protesters, Mahinda Rajapaksa said, “Anyone can make an allegation, but those allegations need to be proved. We cannot turn our back on the Constitution and leave, by simply allowing the country to go into a state of anarchy.”

“The President had never asked me to resign and I do not believe he would ask me to do so,” he told the meeting.

Mahinda Rajapaksa also urged people to be patient, stating it was not practical for him and the president to resign because they had been elected through a mandate. He asserted that only certain sections of the people were protesting against the government. 

He said, "There are some groups within these sections who are those who were always against us. It is these people who are asking us to go. But it is not practical. We came in through a mandate. Just because certain people want us to go does not mean we will go. We have got a mandate and if people want to change us, they can do it through an election." 

Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed that the people will vote for him in the next elections, because they know "who I am and what I am".

He said, "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." 

"We are here because the people want us. The day the people want us to go, we will go. In 2015, we lost the elections. And then in 2019 we came back. So the majority are with us."  

In response to a question on the performance of the President, he said, "I personally feel Gotabaya Rajapaksa has performed well and done a fantastic job. It is true that we are facing issues today, but we are also working hard to restore normalcy as soon as possible."

(With PTI inputs)