Sri Lanka News: In Sri Lanka, seven people of the same family occupy key positions in the government. From the President to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, everyone is from the Rajapaksa family.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
Rajapaksa Family in Sri Lanka Government: The Rajapaksa family’s hold in the government of Sri Lanka is getting stronger. Basil Rajapaksa, the youngest brother of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, was sworn in as the Finance Minister on Thursday. Due to which the dominance of one family is increasing in the country. 70-year-old Basil Rajapaksa is fourth among the brothers, who have become a part of the cabinet. Among these, Gotabaya Rajapaksa is currently the President of the country, Chamal Rajapaksa is the Agriculture Minister and Mahinda Rajapaksa is the Prime Minister.
With the arrival of Basil, the number of family members holding high positions in the government has gone up to 7. Till Thursday morning, the finance ministry was being handled by the Prime Minister. Now he has been entrusted with the responsibility of economic policy and plan implementation. Mahinda’s eldest son Namal is the Sports Minister and Chamal’s son Shashindra is the Minister of State (Rajapaksa Family in Sri Lanka Government). At the same time, his nephew Nipuna Ranawaka is also involved in the government. Basil was considered the intellectual pillar of the Mahinda Rajapakse administration from 2010 to 2015.
enter parliament without contesting elections
Basil holds dual citizenship of the US and Sri Lanka. Under the current administration of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Basil has led all major task forces from economic management to the environment. He did not stand in the parliamentary elections held in August 2020 last year, but still he entered the Parliament through the national list of elected MPs. The national list MP of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP or Sri Lanka People’s Front) resigned this week to clear the way for Basil to enter parliament.
Hope for help with Basil’s arrival
Only members of parliament are eligible to become ministers. So the MP resigned. The ruling SLPP believes that the arrival of Basil as the chief political strategist will be of great help to the government during the pandemic. The government has recently faced a lot of criticism over sluggish economic growth, rapidly depleting foreign reserves, rising foreign debt and its failure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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