Sri Lanka PM Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns amid economic crisis

Amid economic crisis, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned from office. Sri Lanka's health minister Prof Channa Jayasumana also handed in his letter of resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday. 

The Rajapaksa brothers - President Gotabaya and Prime Minister Mahinda - so far had defied calls for their resignation even as protests against them intensified. 

Rajapaksa's resignation comes after Sri Lankan authorities on Monday imposed a nationwide curfew and Army troops were deployed in the capital after pro-government groups attacked protesters outside embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office, leaving at least 78 people injured.

Curfew was imposed island-wide with immediate effect until further notice, a police spokesperson was quoted as saying by the local media.

A military contingent was deployed to the protest site to assist law enforcement after clashes between pro-government and protestors at MynaGoGama and GotaGoGama protest sites left 78 people injured.

In a special Cabinet meeting on Friday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency with effect from Friday midnight. This is the second time that an emergency was declared in Sri Lanka in just over a month as the island nation was in the grip of the worst economic crisis.

Sri Lanka is currently in the throes of unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.

Thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets across Sri Lanka since April 9 seeking resignation of President Gotabaya and Prime Minister Mahinda, as the government ran out of money for vital imports; prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed and there are acute shortages in fuel, medicines and electricity supply.

(With PTI Inputs)