Centre to call all-party meet on Sri Lanka on Tuesday after DMK, ADMK seek India’s intervention

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New Delhi, July 17

The Centre will call an all-party meeting on Tuesday on Sri Lanka, the day Colombo will call for nominations for the post of President with the polling to take place a day later.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will brief party leaders on the current Sri Lanka economic crisis, said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.

Both the DMK and AIADMK have demanded that India intervene effectively in Sri Lanka, but there are dissenting voices that seek an economic bailout in return for a strategic toe hold for India at a time when most countries have turned reluctant in bailing out the island country. China has given just $ 80 million in aid and the Japanese have declined, saying there is a risk of financial assistance being mismanaged.

It was a quiet day in Sri Lanka on Sunday with the protest movement reaching its 100th day. It has already forced the President and Prime Minister to quit their posts and flee. The movement began as a two-day protest on April 9, when thousands of people camped in front of Rajapaksa’s office. But people then decided to stay and the crowds swelled.

The Sri Lankan Parliament will accept nominations for the post of President on Tuesday and a vote will take place on Wednesday. The new president could hold office for the two years that were left of Gotabaya’s term before a fresh election in 2024. The process would wrap up in seven days, Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has said.

Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe remains the frontrunner as the Sri Lanka People’s Party of the Rajapaksa clan has decided to back him. However, it remains a tough task for the protestors to approve Wickremesinghe’s nomination as he is as detested as the four Rajapaksa brothers. In fact, Wickremesinghe’s party has only one seat in Parliament.