NEW DELHI: Sri Lankan protesters entered the prime minister’s office in Colombo despite a large deployment of security forces as the country’s political and economic crisis worsened on Wednesday.
Parliament speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country with his wife on a military plane in the early hours, appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as interim president.
Wickremesinghe’s office announced a curfew in the Colombo region and a state of emergency across Sri Lanka to control the disorder amid the ongoing economic crisis.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa criticised Wickremesinghe’s appointment as acting president, suggesting that he lacked political strength.
Wickremesinghe, 73, the lone lawmaker from his United National Party (UNP) in the 225-seat parliament, was made prime minister by Gotabaya in May.
“Now the same person is appointed as acting president. This is the Rajapaksa style of democracy. What a farce. What a tragedy,“ said Premadasa, whose Samagi Jana Balawegaya party has 54 members in parliament.
Colombo witnessed angry public protests despite the curfew.
Video footage showed large groups of protesters taking over the prime minister’s office.
The parliament speaker has convened a meeting of various party leaders on Wednesday evening to discuss the political crisis, the Sri Lankan media reported.-Bernama