As Lanka Burns, Ranil Wickremesinghe Desperate for Prez Post But Complicity With Rajapaksas A Red Flag

As the political turmoil in Sri Lanka simmers, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is keen to take over as president of the beleaguered island nation but his complicity with the Rajapaksas may throw a spanner in the works, top Sri Lankan sources have told CNN-News18.

According to the sources, Wickremesinghe coming to power will be a repeat of the Rajpaksa rule since, in the public eye, the prime minister was always accused of aiding the leaders who were charged with corruption.

They added that the public believes had Wickremesinghe not accepted the premiership in April this year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa would have stepped down from presidency.

When Wickremesinghe came to power in 2015, he rescued Mahinda Rajapaksa when he was defeated and sent home and the mobs were looking for him. The prime minister offered him a chopper to go to Hambantota, his home town.

In return, when the Rajapaksas came to power in 2019, they saved Wickremesinghe from the Central Bank bond scam. There was no probe into the fraud, as assured by Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

In May 2022, when Gotabaya Rajapaksa faced unprecedented challenge from the people to resign, he was almost ready to step down but his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa took the bullet and quit from Premiership on May 9. However, Wickremesinghe once again came to their aid and “rescued” Gotabaya Rajapaksa by accepting the premiership, angering protesters.

This is not the first time that the Rajapksas and Wickremesinghe are said to be hand-in-glove. In 2018, former foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera, who passed away due to Covid-19, revealed the hidden relationship between Wickremesinghe and Mahinda Rajapaksa. He revealed that Mahinda Rajapaksa was given the freedom to travel because of Wickremesinghe.

News18 had earlier reported that political parties in Sri Lanka are not ready to accept Wickremesinghe as the new President.

The island nation, which is home to 22 million people, has suffered months of lengthy blackouts, acute food and fuel shortages and galloping inflation in its most painful economic meltdown.

According to the Sri Lankan Constitution, the Prime Minister automatically becomes the President after the sitting President resigns. Serious thinking on his impeachment is on, said sources.

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