More trouble for Gotabaya Rajapaksa as opposition mulls no-confidence motion against SL president
Sri Lanka protest
Hundreds of protesters, including students,gathered near the Galle Face Green in Colombo against Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday, as the country faces its worst economic crisis since its independence.
The road leading to the Presidential Secretariat was completely blocked with students convergingon the protest site to make their voices heard against Sri Lanka’s spiralling economic crisis.
Student protesters chanted "Go home, Gota" and called for the Rajapaksha government to step down, while accusing the government of “robbing the youth of their futures”.
According to AFP news agency,Saturday’s protest was largely organised through social media which saw the participation of tens of thousands of protesters.
Similar churnings were witnessed in the Sri Lankan political circles, as the opposition parties are mulling to move a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa.
According to ANI news agency, Sri Lanka's main opposition party Samagi Jana Balwegaya (SJB) has announced that it will move a no-trust pela if the government fails to provide immediate relief.
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
Also read |India our big brother, grateful to PM Modi: Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya amid economic crisis
"We have decided to bring a no-confidence motion against Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa as he has failed ails to address the country in connection with economic policies. We have called a meeting with all opposition leaders and will take a final decision on it soon," Sri Lanka’s leader of opposition Sajith Premadasa told ANI.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's business community, which largely funded Rajapaksa's election campaign, also withdrew its support to the president on Saturday.
"Thecurrent political and economic impasse simply cannot continue any further. We need a cabinet and an interim government within a week at most," AFP quoted Rohan Masakorala, head of the Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber products, as saying.
Ina joint statement,they said thatthey were responsible for generatingnearly a quarter ofthecountry's $80.17 billion gross domestic product and warned that millions of jobs would be in jeopardy.
Watch |Crisis-hit Sri Lanka doubles interest rates to tame inflation
(With inputs from Dasuni Athauda and agencies)