Sri Lankan prime minister calls for Cabinet meeting amid political turmoil

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday held a Cabinet meeting with all the ministers at the Prime Minister's office, soon after Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he is resigning from his post.

"Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held a discussion with the Cabinet Ministers this morning (11 am) at the Prime Minister's Office," the Prime Minister's media unit said in a statement.

"All the ministers who participated in the meeting were of the opinion that as soon as there is an agreement to form an All-Party Government, they are ready to hand over their responsibilities to that Government," it added.

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he is resigning from his post, as the pressure from the protestors intensified.

Rajapaksa informed that he will be resigning as previously announced, the Prime Minister's media unit said, according to Colombo Gazette.

Earlier, on Saturday, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced in a press conference that the President will resign from his post on July 13.

Rajapaksa's resignation 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.

Even 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.

The worsening economic situation in the country 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.

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.