By Norman Palihawadana Courtesy Island

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday told The Island that he was ready to accept any decision taken by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa about the post of Prime Minister.

If the President decides to replace me with another person, I am ready to accept that. We must respect and accept the decisions taken by the President,” the Prime Minister said.

Earlier, former President and head of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Maithripala Sirisena told journalists in Colombo that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had agreed to form an interim government.

The President agreed to form an interim government if all stakeholders were agreeable,” the former President said, adding that the interim government would be the first step towards holding elections.

We do not care about the leadership of the interim government. We need to do something to solve the present crisis,” he added.

Sirisena said letters inviting political parties to join the interim government would be sent to the leaders of all political parties represented in Parliament in the coming days.

The President consented to form an Interim Cabinet of Ministers led by a new Prime Minister,” Sirisena said.

The Interim Cabinet would be limited to 15 or 20 Ministers. Sirisena said that the President agreed to establish a National Council that would decide on the Prime Minister, Cabinet of Ministers, Inspector General of Police, Attorney General, and even the Ministry Secretaries. This is an SLFP proposal”, he said.