The 74-year-old leader, who describe himself as "a rebel with a cause", earlier served as the country's president from 2005-2015, becoming South Asia's longest-serving leader. He was also prime minister for a brief period in 2018.
Even though he is a Buddhist, Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa makes a pilgrimage to Tirupati every year to worship at the famous Hindu shrine.
Mahinda Rajapaksa completed 50 years of parliamentary politics in July this year. He was elected as a Member of Parliament at the young age of 24 in 1970. He has since been elected president twice and has been appointed prime minister thrice.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office on Monday said that Mahinda Rajapaksa intends to propose a new Constitutional Amendment to the cabinet in order to fulfil the people's aspirations.
President Pratibha Patil and her Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa will watch the World Cup final match between India and Sri Lanka at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. Authorities in charge of security arrangements had asked the two presidents to cut down the size of their entourage from 40 to 20. President Patil then intervened to save the government from a potentially embarrassing situation, said sources.
As the island heads for elections, two major factors worry Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. One is the division in the Sinhala vote and the other is the prospect of the Tamils and Muslims voting heavily against him.
Rajapaksa informed the lawmakers of United People's Freedom Alliance that he has resigned from the post.
Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday accepted defeat in the parliamentary elections even before the announcement of the final results.
A double-quick analysis of the Lankan election results would show that the relatively narrow victory margin of challenger Maithripala Sirisena was made up by the three minority communities of Tamils, Muslims and Christians, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rajapaksa was appointed as the premier on October 26 by President Maithripala Sirisena after sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe, plunging the nation into a constitutional crisis.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa became the only member of the family to retain a cabinet position in his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa's new cabinet of 17 ministers appointed on Monday, as the island nation was facing the worst economic crisis.
A protest has begun in front of the Trincomalee Naval Base after reports Mahinda Rajapaksa and some of his family members are there after leaving Temple Trees, the official residence of prime minister.
The order was also imposed on parliamentarians Johnston Fernando, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Sanjeewa Edirimanne, Kanchana Jayaratne, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, C B Ratnayake, Sampath Athukorala, Renuka Perera, Sanath Nishantha, Senior DIG Deshabandu Thennakoon among others.
There have been reports that the Rajapaksa brothers, which dominates the current Sri Lankan government, are not on the same page. Gota, it is said, is not on the same wave length as his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former president, or Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is seen to be the family's strategist.
In what appears to be more trouble for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's government, the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya party on Friday announced that it will move a no-confidence motion against the government if it fails to take steps to address the concerns of the public facing hardships due to the worst economic crisis in the island's history.
The violence occurred following reports on Monday that Mahinda Rajapksa may offer to stand down as Prime Minister.
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused by the Opposition of inciting the ruling party mobs to attack peaceful protesters by making a defiant speech while addressing several thousands of his supporters to deflect calls for his resignation.
On May 9, violence erupted in Sri Lanka after supporters of the 76-year-old former premier attacked peaceful anti-government protesters demanding his ouster over the country's worst economic crisis that led to acute shortages of staple food, fuel and power.
Thousands of Inter University Students' Federation (IUSF) students were seen sloganeering outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Wijerama Mawatha.
Former Sri Lankan cricketer Ramith Rambukwella arrested in corruption case
Despite mounting pressure, Gotabaya, and Prime Minister Mahinda have refused to quit office.
Thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets since April 9, as the government ran out of money for vital imports; prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed and there are acute shortages in fuel, medicines and electricity supply.
Political analysts said Sirisena's move to install Rajapaksa as the prime minister could lead to a constitutional crisis as the 19th amendment to the Constitution would not allow the sacking of Wickremesinghe as the premier without a majority.
After nearly two days of political deadlock, the stakeholders are engaged in prolonged talks to try and appoint a successor to Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Swamy, a close friend of the Rajapaksa family, also met with Gotabaya's brother Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday evening and attended the Navratri pooja at his residence.
'The Rajapaksas have been in active politics for decades and survived many challenges, but they seem to have misread this one.'
Sri Lankan police on Monday came under pressure to arrest the Rajapaksa family loyalists involved in attacks on peaceful protesters last week, even as it arrested over 200 people on various charges following the violence that left nine people dead.
The whereabouts of Mahinda Rajapaksa is being speculated since his resignation on Monday.
Amid protests by various political parties to his visit Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who arrived in Indian early on Friday morning, offered prayers at the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, soon after his arrival.
While welcoming the landmark victory of Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Sri Lankan presidential polls, the United States has underlined the need for a 'thorough' probe into 'possible violation' of election laws.
Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would resign on Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced late on Saturday night, hours after thousands of protesters stormed the former's official residence, blaming his government for an unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees.
A video is being shared on social media showing the protesters counting the currency notes that were unearthed. The recovered money was said to be handed over to the security units, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
From Sri Lanka's most popular political family to its most despised -- going by the voices on the streets calling for the Rajapaksas' ouster -- what went wrong for the clan? Veteran Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy offers an insight.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters outside embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office, leaving at least 78 people injured and prompting authorities to impose a nationwide curfew and deploy army troops in the capital.
Sri Lanka has bestowed its highest civilian award, the Mithra Vibhushana, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recognition of his role in strengthening ties between the two nations. The award was presented by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at a ceremony in Colombo. PM Modi expressed gratitude, stating the award honors not just him but also the people of India. The Mithra Vibhushana, instituted in 2008, has previously been awarded to prominent figures such as former Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri highlighted the award as a recognition of PM Modi's contribution to strengthening the India-Sri Lanka partnership, particularly during Sri Lanka's economic crisis. The award includes a citation and a silver medal adorned with Sri Lankan gems and symbolic motifs representing shared heritage and prosperity.
Sri Lankan police on Saturday fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse anti-government protestors here as the ongoing agitation demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the worst economic crisis intensified as it entered its 50th day.
Arjuna Ranatunga was arrested on Monday for the first violent incident amidst the on going political crisis in the country.
Rajapaksa's five-day visit to India assumes significance as his tenure as Sri Lanka's president from 2005 to 2016 saw expansion of China's footprints in the Indian Ocean island nation, triggering concerns in India.
Mahinda Rajapaksa is a democratically elected leader who received a massive mandate of 71% of votes, and he owes nothing to Delhi or Washington for staging his political comeback, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised on Friday to seek a political solution to address the ethnic conflict in a post-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Sri Lanka, even as a top UN official pressed Colombo to begin process of national reconciliation by accommodating "legitimate" grievances of Tamils.
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