Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has filed an appeal in the apex court against the Court of Appeal's interim order restraining him and his cabinet from exercising their powers. The Court of Appeal's order came in response to a petition filed by 122 MPs including ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who alleged that the new cabinet was appointed unconstitutionally by President Sirisena.
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“We do not agree with the decision given by the Appeals Court as Constitutional matters are finally decided by the Supreme Court. We will be filing an appeal tomorrow.” pic.twitter.com/g6im1auDsJ
— Mahinda Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa) December 3, 2018
The petitioners accused Mahinda Rajapaksa and his ministers of taking governmental decisions despite the parliament passing two no-confidence motions on November 14 and 16.
#SriLanka: Several MPs supporting ousted PM Ranil Wickremsinghe criticize the conduct of President Maithripala Sirisena in Parliament while MPs supporting Mahinda Rajapaksa boycott the session for the fifth consecutive day.
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) December 5, 2018
Since then Ranil Wickremesinghe has been waging a political battle against Sirisena with the support of the Tamil National Alliance, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, and Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna apart from his United National Party.
READ MORE: Sri Lanka: A Pro-Chinese Constitutional Coup?
The Sri Lankan political crisis has been further compounded by the tug of war between China and the US as both are trying to increase their sphere of influence in the region.
While the Trump administration is trying to undermine Srisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa, China is tacitly supporting both the leaders in their political battle against former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
India, which had earlier helped Sirisena to become president ensuring the defeat of pro-China Rajapaksa, is cautiously monitoring the unfolding political situation in Sri Lanka.
