Sri Lanka's Wickremesinghe urges political parties to put aside their differences and form all-party govt

Sri Lankas Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday urged the political parties to put aside their differences and form an allparty government which would allow the country to recover from the economic crisis as he assured the public that talks with the IMF were nearing conclusionWickremesinghe who earlier in the day declared a state of emergency giving him broad powers ahead of the crucial presidential election on Wednesday made the appeal in a special statement in which he said that when he took over as the Prime Minister on May 13 the economy had collapsedActing President Wickremesinghe called upon the political parties in the country to put aside their differences and not allow the country to suffer over differences over an individual He urged them to come together and form an AllParty Government which would allow the country to recover from the economic crisis according to the statement issued by his office on his behalfAlso Read State of emergency declared in Sri Lanka ahead of July 20 presidential electionIn the statement Wickremesinghe said that in the two months since he assumed the post of prime minister power cuts had been reduced to 3 hours a day fertiliser has been provided to the farmers and the gas shortage in the country has been solvedWickremesinghe who is one the contenders for the post of President further said that July would be a difficult period for the supply of fuel However diesel stocks have been secured and are being distributed while from July 21 petrol will also be distributedHe also explained that relief was being provided to the citizens who are struggling with the economic crisis The loans taken by paddy farmers who have planted fields less than 2 acres have been cancelled While due to the drop in the world oil prices the fuel prices in the country have also been reduced he saidWickremesinghe also highlighted the steps taken so far and said that negotiations with the International Monetary Fund IMF were nearing conclusion and discussions for assistance with foreign countries was also progressingHe was swornin as acting president on Friday after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives and then to Singapore from where he resigned in the face of public revolt against his governments mishandling of the countrys economyWickremesinghe went on to explain that the current political crisis in the country is due to the Executive Presidency and said that the 19th Amendment would be reintroduced which would address many of the concerns of the publicHe also warned that there were elements within society who were attempting to disrupt the peace in the country and said these elements would be prohibited from disrupting the countrys progressWickremesinghe said that the government would hold talks with peaceful protesters who had legitimate concerns and solutions would be found for themSri Lanka a country of 22 million people is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil the worst in seven decades leaving millions struggling to buy food medicine fuel and other essentialsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever