All-party meeting called Centre government to discuss Sri Lanka crisis

Credent TV | The government announced on Sunday that an all-party conference on the Sri Lanka crisis had been scheduled for Tuesday evening. Both Nirmala Sitharaman and Dr. S. Jaishankar, both Union Ministers, will provide reports on the situation.

During a meeting of parties before the Monsoon Session of parliament, news agency PTI said that the DMK and AIADMK asked India to help the neighbouring country, which is going through its worst economic crisis in seven decades.

M. Thambidurai of the AIADMK, which is part of the coalition that runs the federal government, and TR Baalu of the DMK, which runs Tamil Nadu, both talked about how bad things are for the Tamil people in the country.

India has so far played a passive role in the crisis, delivering relief via a variety of routes only. Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs carefully worded a statement saying that India “stands with the people of Sri Lanka as they work to realise their hopes for prosperity and growth through democratic methods and ideals, established institutions, and a constitutional framework.”

The statement cited India’s financial assistance to the island country as evidence that Sri Lanka is a key component of India’s Neighborhood First strategy. It said India is Sri Lanka’s nearest neighbour and the two nations have long-standing cultural ties.

The protest movement in Sri Lanka entered its 100th day on Sunday. As the country’s economy gets worse, the focus is now on who will replace the president who was removed from office.

Last weekend, before protesters broke into his palace, Gotabaya Rajapaksa left and announced his resignation as president on Thursday.

Due to his poor administration, Sri Lanka’s 22 million citizens have been forced to deal with food, fuel, and medical shortages since late last year.

Following Rajapaksa’s resignation, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was automatically appointed as interim president in accordance with Sri Lanka’s constitution. Wickremesinghe is the front-runner for Rajapaksa’s permanent replacement.

Since Rajapaksa left, fewer people have gathered at the protest site, and the protesters have left three important state buildings that they had occupied: the 200-year-old presidential palace, the Prime Minister’s official Temple Trees home, and his office.

Defense officials said more soldiers and police would be sent to the city on Monday to reinforce security around parliament ahead of the vote, and Wickremesinghe has urged the military and police to take whatever measures are necessary to maintain calm.