New Delhi: Sri Lanka is facing severe political turmoil and public unrest for the past several months. In the latest upsurge of public demonstrations against the ruling dispensations the protesters stormed and occupied the official residences of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
PM Wickremesinghe’s private residence was set on fire by the agitators. Both the President and Prime Minister have said that they will resign, paving the way for all-party government.
Sri Lanka has been witnessing massive public protests since late March because of the government’s mishandling of the Sri Lankan economy. Food inflation has skyrocketed, people are unable to procure lifesaving medicines, and lengthy queues for fuel and cooking gas at petrol pumps are a common sight. Faulty economic policies of the Sri Lankan government coupled with Chinese investment and debt traps worsened the island nation’s economic crisis.
CVoter-IndiaTracker conducted a countrywide survey on behalf of IANS to know people’s views on who is responsible for political upheaval in Sri Lanka.
The survey revealed that people were divided in their opinion about the main reason for the on-going crisis in the neighbouring country. During the survey, while 52 per cent respondents blamed the Rajapaksa government for the unrest in Sri Lanka, 48 per cent believe that China is the main reason for the economic and political crisis in the country.
Views of both NDA voters and opposition supporters were also divided on the issue. During the survey, 52 per cent of NDA voters and 52 per cent of opposition supporters held the Rajapaksa government responsible for the chaotic situation in Sri Lanka.
Similarly, both the urban and rural voters were divided in their opinion on the issue. According to the survey data, while 53 per cent of urban voters accused Rajapaksa government, 50 per cent of rural voters blamed China for Sri Lanka’s worst-ever economic crisis and political unrest.
–IANS