Colombo, April 27 (Representative) Amid a crippling economic crisis and calls for his resignation, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa asserted in comments published on Wednesday that he won’t resign until he loses majority support in Parliament. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Rajapaksa said that he still commanded majority support in Parliament. “If a majority of the MPs feel I must go, then I must go. There is no question about this.” He asserted that they came into government through a mandate and “if people want to change us, they can do it through an election”. “Certain section of people protesting against me and calling for my resignation does not represent the entire population.”
Responding to a question about the ‘GoHomeRajapaksa’ campaign, the Prime Minister said that such campaigns were not new and have been going on for years. “We were rightfully elected and the day people want us to go, we will go.” In response to a question about the rift between him and brother President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former said they both were on the same page. “Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the President. So I must always respect him as the President. He may be my younger brother, but that is a different matter. “Like everyone else we also argue, even in the Cabinet we argue. But our arguments stop there.” Touching upon shortages of basic essential supplies, Rajapaksa said that they were working to ensure that basic essentials were supplied to the citizens as much as possible.
“We are working hard to restore normalcy as soon as possible.” “Parties such as the World Bank and other agencies are assisting us in getting the much needed medical supplies.” Responding to how the government plans to resolve the crisis, the Prime Minister said: “As an immediate solution there are countries which are willing to help us and we have started discussions with them… they have responded positively. “We are in discussions with several countries. We are meeting the Ambassadors here very frequently.”