The Indian High Commission in Colombo rubbished rumours that the country has sent its troops to Sri Lanka after reports surfaced in the local media that Indian soldiers have been dispatched to the island nation.

In a tweet on Saturday, the Indian High Commission said: "High Commission strongly denies blatantly false and completely baseless reports in a section of media that India is dispatching its soldiers to Sri Lanka. The High Commission also condemns such irresponsible reporting and expects the concerned to desist from spreading rumours".

High Commission strongly denies blatantly false and completely baseless reports in a section of media that India is dispatching its soldiers to Sri Lanka. The High Commission also condemns such irresponsible reporting and expects the concerned to desist from spreading rumours.

— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) April 2, 2022

Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne clarified that information circulated on social media showed fake news regarding the arrival of Indian soldiers in the country. He said that people have released official photographs of the 2021's India-Sri Lanka joint military exercise 'Mitra Shakti' along with fake news.

Gunaratne said: "Sri Lanka's tri-forces are capable of facing any situation to ensure national security and people should not be misguided by such misinformation".

Amid rising anger and the economic situation out of hand, the country imposed a state of emergency and curfew. The Department of Government Information (DGI) issued a statement, saying that it was done to safeguard lives and property, adding: "The government has pledged to uphold and promote democratic rights, including freedom of speech and expression, and the right to peaceful assembly and protest. This has been proven in practice over the past two years".

Currently, the country remains under curfew from Saturday till Monday morning. Authorities arrested over 600 protestors on Sunday for violating curfew orders in the Western Province. Curfew was imposed to deter planned protests on Sunday. It had earlier been enforced on Thursday after angry people tried to storm President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence.

Sri Lanka Imposes Curfew and Blocks Social Media amid Crisis

Amid major economic crisis the President of Sri Lanka @GotabayaR issued curfew. The Government has blocked social media sites.https://t.co/FQsRuO4LHd#Headline8@UNICEF_SriLanka pic.twitter.com/LrjiOFB7WS

— Headline 8 (@headline8assam) April 3, 2022

News filtered out that social media platforms too had died down in the country, leading to speculation that the government had curbed the use of the social media.

However, Namal Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's Cabinet Minister of Youth and Sports, criticised the ban, saying: "I will never condone the blocking of social media. The availability of VPN, just like I'm using now, makes such bans completely useless. I urge the authorities to think more progressively and reconsider this decision".

The mood in the tiny nation of just 22 million is anti-government with ire being directed against the ruling Rajapaksa family that holds some of the top positions in the country. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa hold prime posts in the government, with other relatives managing other official responsibilities.

Common people have been facing the brunt of economic mismanagement as well as the debilitating impact of Covid-19 which brought the island nation's tourism sector to a standstill. With foreign exchange reserves touching rock bottom, the country has not been able to import food, fuel and medicines. Prices have skyrocketed with serpentine queues for fuel and long power cuts. In protest rallies, disgruntled people have been chanting "Go Home Rajapaksas" and "Go Home Gota".

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