Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as Prime minister of Sri Lanka

Colombo, Dec 15: Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as Prime minister of Sri Lanka on Saturday. Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Namal Rajapaksa on Friday tweeted that his father would resign as the prime minister of Sri Lanka.

"To ensure the stability of the nation, Former President @PresRajapaksa has decided to resign from the Premiership tomorrow after an address to the nation. The SLPP with Frm President, SLFP & others will now work to form a broader political coalition with President Sirisena," Namal Rajapaksha tweeted.

Maithripala Sirisena in October abruptly sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa in a controversial move termed by many as unconstitutional. The controversial action on 26 October led to a political crisis in the country, with both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa claiming to be the legitimate prime minister.

Rajapaksa was appointed as prime minister on October 26 by President Sirisena in a controversial move after sacking Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, which plunged the country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

The country's Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously declared that the dissolution of the Sri Lankan Parliament by President Sirisena was "illegal".

The top court on Friday refused to stay a court order restraining Mr Rajapaksa, 73, from holding the office of prime minister until it fully heard the case next month.

(With PTI inputs)