EXCLUSIVE | India Is Helping But Sri Lanka Will Have To Help Itself: Arjuna Ranatunga

"Sri Lanka should step away from narrow-minded party politics and adopt national policy with a blueprint of which the foundation cannot be changed to the whims of the people in power," Ranatunga said.

Arjuna Ranatunga | Image: AFP

Former World Cup-winning captain of Sri Lanka, Arjuna Ranatunga said that the government's policies are responsible for the current crisis situation in Sri Lanka. "If they (government) cannot handle the situation, then they should resign," Ranatunga told ABP News.

Apart from winning the cricket World Cup in 1996, Ranatunga was his county's petroleum minister as well. He disagreed to believe in SL government's narrative that the economic crisis has plunged into the country only due to Covid-19.

Read | Jayawardene To Malinga: How Sri Lanka's Cricket Fraternity Reacted To Economic Crisis

"The condition has worsened due to the wrong policies of the government, but Covid-19 is being cited as the reason. People's demands are not big, they are asking for basic things," he said.

Ranatunga said that to overcome the situation, the government must take the help of the International Monetary Fund. "India is helping, but Sri Lanka will have to help itself," Ranatunga said. 

Ranatunga's Twitter post:

When Injustice Becomes Law, Resistance Becomes Duty! - Thomas Jefferson#SriLanka #SriLankaCrisis #EnoughIsEnough pic.twitter.com/Qx0ZOHDyg4

— Arjuna Ranatunga (@ArjunaRanatunga) April 5, 2022

"The current situation in Sri Lanka, the way in which people have united together, clearly demonstrates why Sri Lanka should step away from narrow-minded party politics and adopt a national policy with a blueprint of which the foundation cannot be changed to the whims and fancies of the people in power," Ranatunga had written this on Facebook on Wednesday.

This statement comes after Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who imposed an emergency (on April 1) over violence triggered by deterioraiting economic situation, revoked the orders late on Tuesday as the evolving situation makes it difficult for the island nation to seek a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund.