Muristek
Colombo, April 20
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is under pressure to resign, was dealt a further blow on Wednesday when three more parliamentarians withdrew their support to the government.
Earlier this month, 39 lawmakers out of 156 MPs pulled their support to Rajapaksa in the 225-member Parliament. The breakaway group, which sits independently, has declared not to align with any other coalition, including the Opposition. The independent group demands the formation of an all-party interim government with the resignation of the Rajapaksa family from power.
Sri Lanka Muslim Council MP Faizal Cassim informed Parliament that he along with MPs Ishak Rahuman and MS Thowfeek would withdraw their support to the government. The three were part of the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya coalition, including from the SLMC.
They had been Rajapaksa's allies since 2020 and voted for the controversial 20A which conferred absolute power on the President. — PTI
Global condemnation after firing incident
Colombo: Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday said they were saddened by the Rambukkana shooting that killed one person and injured 13 others as the international community expressed outrage over the use of force on unarmed anti-government protesters demonstrating against the latest fuel price hike.