Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam on Friday called for a bipartisan national response to mounting economic pressures, warning that rising currency volatility, inflation and energy costs were placing growing strain on households and businesses, Daily FT reported.
Rasamanickam urged a “mature, collective response” that set aside partisan reflexes, framing the rupee slide and import-cost shock as challenges that warrant cross-party coordination rather than political point-scoring.
The intervention is the first formal call by an ITAK parliamentarian for bipartisan engagement during the current rupee episode, broadening the chorus of opposition voices and government counter-arguments that has dominated the past week.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa earlier in the week led a delegation of opposition party leaders to Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne to request an urgent parliamentary debate on the rupee. Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha pushed back on the “crisis” framing, while Opposition Leader Harsha de Silva characterised the market as “frozen”. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told an Ampara audience on Thursday that the current episode could not be compared with the 2022 default, citing nearly USD 7 billion in foreign reserves.
The rupee partially recovered to Rs.329 in spot trading on Friday from Rs.342-350 at commercial bank counters earlier in the week, after the Central Bank engaged with forex dealers on tighter market regulation. The IMF Executive Board is set to review Sri Lanka on May 27.
Source: Daily FT.
