Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday said that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has not asked him to resign and claimed that they were on the “same page” to resolve the worst economic crisis, amidst reports of a rift between the two brothers.

Mahinda’s assertion came on a day when the Sri Lankan media reported that Gotabaya has written to the party leaders affiliated with the government that they could meet on Friday and discuss an all-party government that can be formed after the Prime Minister and cabinet resigned.

In his letter, the President noted that he had taken into consideration the requests made by the country’s top Buddhist leaders, religious leaders, as well as those from political parties and civil organisations.

Sri Lanka is currently in the throes of an unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.

Earlier this month, Gotabaya had to drop his elder brother Chamal and eldest nephew Namal from the cabinet in response to the protests which called for accountability from the powerful ruling family and their inability to address the worst forex crisis faced by the country.