Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday removed his brother and Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa from his post amidst the worst economic crisis that has plagued the island nation. Basil had negotiated the Indian economic relief package to help Sri Lanka tackle the current foreign exchange crisis. He has been replaced by Ali Sabry, who was until Sunday night the Minister of Justice. Basil was scheduled to leave for the US to meet with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a possible bailout package to get over the unprecedented economic crisis.
Meanwhile, a new Sri Lankan Cabinet is expected to be sworn in on Monday as part of the government's bid to tackle the raging public anger against the ongoing economic hardships caused by the island nation's worst economic crisis. On Sunday night, all 26 ministers submitted letters of resignation. Speaking to reporters, Education Minister and Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena said the Cabinet Ministers handed over their resignations to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. He provided no reason for the mass resignation.
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with agency Inputs
