Gotabaya Rajapaksa drops brother, nephew from Cabinet

NEW DELHI, APRIL 4

The Rajapaksa clan sought to deflect the growing popular disenchantment in over soaring inflation and shortages of essentials in Sri Lanka by rearranging the Cabinet. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dropped some family members as part of a mass resignation by the Cabinet but retained his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister.

As protesters tried to storm Mahinda’s rural retreat and sought the ouster of all Rajapaksas, especially Gotabaya, the President’s Media Office announced the appointment of four new ministers. Among those dropped were Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who was negotiating the bailout packages, and his nephew and Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa. Justice Minister Ali Sabry has replaced Basil as the Finance Minister. —