Gotabaya Rajapaksa. File photoNEW DELHI, May 10.Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa accepted the resignation of his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa from the post of prime minister, the Daily Mirror reports, citing the presidential secretariat. . The premier's departure comes as President Gotbaya Rajapaksa asked for his resignation in a special meeting on Friday as a solution to the crisis. Sri Lanka's political crisis comes on the heels of the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. It is caused by a shortage of foreign exchange resulting from the restriction of tourist flow due to the coronavirus pandemic, as a result of which the country cannot purchase enough fuel. There is an acute shortage of food and basic necessities, fuel and gas in the country. Many parts of Sri Lanka are facing constant power outages due to a lack of foreign exchange to import fuel. Clashes in the capital began on the morning of May 9 after several thousand supporters of the ruling Sri Lankan Popular Front party, brought in buses from rural area, attacked the tent camp of opposition supporters, and later clashed with oppositionists who were holding a rally near the residences of the prime minister and president of the country. Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the clashes. It is reported that units of the army have been involved in law enforcement. The night before, protesters in Sri Lanka set fire to the family home of the Rajapaksa brothers. According to the TV channel, the houses of three former ministers and two deputies were also set on fire.
