Colombo (PTI): A senior leader from Sri Lanka's Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) on Saturday said his party will prove their majority in Parliament next week for the no-confidence motion against the government led by the Rajapaksa family, according to a media report.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has asked the Opposition to show their majority by garnering the support of 113 lawmakers in the 225-member Parliament to form the interim government.
Everyone will be able to see that we command a majority next week and I will not reveal how we are going to do it as of now, Daily Mirror newspaper quoted SJB MP and Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella as saying.
President should resign from his post and then constitutional reforms should follow to ensure checks and balances among the pillars of the government, he said during a press conference.
Another SJB MP Mujibur Rahman, who was also present during the press conference, said his party will also push for impeachment against the President.
We have not given it up, he said.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday extended an invitation to form an all-party government comprising all political parties represented in Parliament to address the economic crisis in the island nation.
He made the offer during a discussion with party leaders and representatives who are now operating independently in Parliament, President's media division said in a statement. However, it was not clear if incumbent Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the eldest brother of the President, will resign to form the all-party government.
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.
The Rajapaksa family is coming under increasing pressure to resign with tens of thousands of protesters camping permanently outside the presidential secretariat for three weeks now.
The street protests throughout the island nation call for the resignation of the entire Rajapaksa family for their bungling in handling the economic crisis as people are forced to wait in long queues for essentials while enduring long power cuts.
In recent weeks, the powerful Buddhist clergy, civil society and trade chambers have demanded the formation of an interim government to handle the current economic crisis.
The President has also come under pressure from a dissident group of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition to set up an interim government.
However, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, 76, has refused to resign. He stresses that any interim government should only be formed under his premiership.
The Opposition maintains they would never be part of any government under the two Rajapaksas.
The public agitations demanding the resignation of the entire Rajapaksa family entered its 22nd day on Saturday.
Sri Lanka needs at least USD 4 billion to tide over its mounting economic woes, and talks with international institutions such as the World Bank as well as countries like China and Japan for financial assistance have been going on.
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Four held for Rs 33 lakh online investment fraud; interstate racket busted
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has busted an interstate cyber fraud syndicate involved in an online investment scam and arrested four persons, an official said on Saturday.
A crime branch team arrested the accused in a case where a victim was allegedly cheated of Rs 33.83 lakh on the pretext of lucrative returns through online trading platforms.
“Police said the accused lured victims with promises of high returns and later coerced them into depositing more money on the pretext of unlocking or withdrawing earlier investments,” the officer said.
Police said the racket operated across several states, including Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan, and used a network of mule bank accounts to route and layer the defrauded money to conceal its origin.
“During the investigation, the cheated amount was traced to 15 bank accounts. Thirteen of these accounts were registered outside Delhi, indicating the organised and interstate nature of the syndicate,” said the police officer.
The accused have been identified as Mohammad Khalid (26) and Atiur Rahman (23), both residents of Delhi, Ramandeep Singh (29) from Punjab, and Tanish alias Heera Ram (27) from Rajasthan.
According to the police, Khalid was arrested on March 15 and allegedly disclosed that he gave his bank account details and SIM card to a co-accused for a commission.
Rahman, who was already lodged in a jail in Haryana in a similar case, was later formally arrested. Ramandeep Singh was arrested on April 6 and allegedly admitted to sharing his account credentials for monetary gain.
Tanish was apprehended from Rajasthan on April 9 for facilitating the use of such accounts in the fraud network.
During the probe, officers analysed over 100 call detail records, IMEI data and transaction-related digital evidence to track the accused and establish the money trail.
Three mobile phones and SIM cards used in the crime have been recovered.
Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the syndicate and trace additional financial linkages, the police said.
