The Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday asserted that India would continue to extend development assistance to the people of Sri Lanka amid an unprecedented constitutional crisis in the island nation.
While responding to the queries regarding recent developments in Sri Lanka in a statement, MEA official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “As a democracy and a close friendly neighbour, we hope that democratic values and the constitutional process will be respected. We will continue to extend our developmental assistance to the friendly people of Sri Lanka.”
The statement comes after Sri Lanka found itself in a political turmoil after its President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday night replacing him with his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa following the collapse of the governing coalition between Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP).
Terming his ouster “unconstitutional”, Wickremesinghe had asserted that he still holds the Prime Minister’s office and is ready to prove that he retains the majority.
The now-ousted Prime Minister had requested the Speaker to call an emergency Parliament session on Monday so that he could prove his majority in the house, following which Sirisena also suspended Parliament till November 16 amid the constitutional crisis in the nation.
In April, the ousted Prime Minister, Wickremesinghe also survived a no-confidence motion in the country’s Parliament that was brought by the supporters of Rajapaksa.
Rajapaksha, who served as Lanka’s President for a period of 10 years, from 2005 to 2015, is a fierce political opponent of the current President Sirisena.
Sirisena had defeated Rajapaksha in the Presidential election of 2015.
