Bandula Gunawardena Could Be Lanka’s New Finance Minister, Party Whip Against Gotabaya Exit | Top Points

Protests continued in the streets of Colombo as no solutions emerged as parliamentarians debated Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s legitimacy to continue as the nation’s president in the wake of the economic crisis.

The president earlier imposed an emergency but revoked it late on Tuesday night fearing that protests against him will only intensify. The coalition parties which formed the government also urged Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign.

Here are the top developments from Colombo:

1. Chief government whip Johnston Fernando said that president Gotabaya Rajapaksa should not resign from his post as he was chosen by the people of Sri Lanka to lead the nation. “As a responsible government, president Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not resign under any circumstances,” Fernando was quoted as saying by news agency Daily Mirror.
2. Bandula Gunawardena could be Sri Lanka’s new finance minister, people familiar with the developments told Daily Mirror.
3. Doctors and health officials have said that the government failed to uphold fundamental rights of Sri Lankans. The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) said that it is becoming hard to provide medical services to those who are at risk due to lack of essential drugs, equipment and surgical materials. Dr. Shenal Fernando highlighted that health workers queued up for petrol, diesel and kerosene before they could attend to their duties.
4. Verbal spat broke out between a group of army personnel and the Colombo police following which a probe was ordered into the incident on the request of army commander General Shavendra Silva. CD Wickramaratna, the inspector general of police, expressed his regret over the incident where cops argued with army motorcycle squads and ordered a probe.
5. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) claimed that banning chemical fertilisers was among the main reasons for the unrest being seen all over Sri Lanka on Wednesday. He said that the government was asked to shift to organic fertiliser in phases.
6. Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not accept the resignation tendered by Sri Lanka parliament deputy speaker Ranjith Siyambalapitiya. Gotabaya said that the resignation was not accepted to ensure that parliamentary democracy prevails.
7. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane said that the parliament does not have the right to ask Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down.

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