Sri Lanka leader sacks minister who criticized farm policy

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president has sacked a government minister after he criticized a now-abandoned government decision to ban chemical fertilizers. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office says education minister Susil Premajayantha was dismissed with immediate effect. It did not give a reason for his removal. Premajayanta said on local television stations that he believes his dismissal was the result of his recent comments about government agricultural policy and rising food prices. On Sunday, Premajayantha was shown on television buying food at a vegetable market and criticizing the government’s prohibition of chemical fertilizers and high vegetable prices.