Topics
India-Sri Lanka | rajapaksa | Economic Crisis
Press Trust of India | Colombo Last Updated at July 13, 2022 10:13 IST
https://mybs.in/2ax4sTt
India on Wednesday categorically denied "baseless and speculative" media reports that it facilitated the travel of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled to the Maldives on a military jet in the face of a public revolt against his government for mishandling the country's economy.
The 73-year-old Sri Lankan President fled the country along with his wife and two security officers on a military jet on Wednesday.
"The High Commission categorically denies baseless and speculative media reports that India facilitated the recent reported travel of @gotabayar @Realbrajapaksa out of Sri Lanka," the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka tweeted.
"It is reiterated that India will continue to support the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realize their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values, established democratic institutions and constitutional framework, it added.
In a brief statement, the Sri Lankan Air Force said that under the Constitution granted to an Executive President, Rajapaksa was flown to the Maldives onboard an Air Force plane Wednesday morning.
"On government request and in terms of powers available to a President under the Constitution, with complete approval from the ministry of defence, the President, his wife and two security officials were provided a Sri Lanka Air Force plane to depart from the Katunayake international airport for the Maldives in the early hours of July 13," the statement said.
Rajapaksa, who enjoys immunity from prosecution while he is president, is believed to have wanted to flee abroad before resigning to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new government.
On Saturday, Rajapaksa had announced to step down on Wednesday after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence, blaming him for the unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees.
Sri 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 essentials.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
PREVIOUS STORY
NEXT STORY
Copyrights © 2022 Business Standard Private Ltd. All rights reserved.
Upgrade To Premium Services
Business Standard is happy to inform you of the launch of “Business Standard Premium Services”
As a premium subscriber you get an across device unfettered access to a range of services which include:
Premium Services
In Partnership with 
Dear Guest,
Welcome to the premium services of Business Standard brought to you courtesy FIS.
Kindly visit the Manage my subscription page to discover the benefits of this programme.
Enjoy Reading!
Team Business Standard
