Sri Lankan cabinet resigns as economic crisis escalates
Defying curfew orders, lawmakers from Sri Lanka's principal opposition party staged an anti-government protest in Colombo
Several members of the cabinet in Sri Lanka, including the prime minister's son, have resigned, just days after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency following protests over a deepening economic crisis.
"We handed our letters of resignation to the prime minister," Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told local media late on Sunday, reports Reuters.
"The president and the prime minister will discuss and take relevant decisions," he added.
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It was not immediately clear if the entire cabinet or only some of the ministers had offered to quit.
According to an NDTV report, a new Sri Lankan Cabinet is expected to be sworn in Monday (4 April) as part of the government's bid to tackle the raging public anger against the ongoing economic hardships caused by the island nation's worst economic crisis.
Youth and Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, nephew of Gotabaya and the son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, said on Twitter on Monday that he had resigned with immediate effect in the hope it will help "establish stability for the people and the government"."#GoHomeRajapaksas" and "#GotaGoHome" have been trending for days on Twitter and Facebook in the island nation, which is battling severe shortages of essentials, sharp price rises and crippling power cuts in its most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948.
A critical lack of foreign currency has left Sri Lanka struggling to service its ballooning $51-billion foreign debt.
Sri Lanka is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.
Protests flared up across the country with people breaking the government-imposed curfew across the country even amid a crackdown on protestors.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa imposed a state of emergency on Friday (1 April), the day after a crowd attempted to storm his home in the capital Colombo, and a nationwide curfew was in effect until Monday (4 April) morning.
At least 664 people were arrested for violating the curfew, officials said.
Internet service providers were ordered to block access to social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, but the blackout did not deter several small demonstrations across Sri Lanka.
The social media curbs were lifted in the second half of Sunday (3 April).
Defying curfew orders, lawmakers from Sri Lanka's principal opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya staged an anti-government protest in Colombo against President Rajapaksa's move to impose a state of emergency and other restrictions.
