The government of Sri Lanka has lost its legitimacy, according to the opposition, due to its alleged mishandling of the debt crisis.

• The main opposition party's representative claims that the Sri Lankan government has lost its "legitimacy" due to its handling of the country's debt crisis and economic problems.
• Sri Lanka's Samagi Jana Balavegaya parliament member Harsha de Silva announced that the party plans to hold a mass demonstration on March 15 in Colombo to increase pressure on the government.
• The government will be forced to resign as a result of this protest, which is set to take place, according to the speaker's statement to CNBC. In their opinion, the government has no right to rule.

The main opposition party's representative claims that the Sri Lankan government has lost its "legitimacy" due to its handling of the country's debt crisis and economic problems.

Sri Lanka's Samagi Jana Balavegaya parliament member Harsha de Silva announced that the party plans to hold a mass demonstration on March 15 in Colombo to increase pressure on the government.

The government will be forced to resign due to this protest, as there is no legitimacy for their rule, according to the speaker on CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Monday.

Basil Rohana Rajapakse, the country's finance minister, was criticized by him for not addressing the debt issue in parliament.

The finance minister has not yet addressed the crisis in parliament after three months, which is unacceptable in a democracy, said the speaker, adding that the government's handling of the crisis is entirely irresponsible.

Sri Lankans are facing a severe economic crisis due to the dual challenge of high inflation and significant external debt.

The government will commence negotiations with the International Monetary Fund in April to devise a strategy for addressing the country's deteriorating debt issues and mitigating its foreign exchange deficit.

The Sri Lankan central bank governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, informed CNBC that his country would manage the current difficulties, but emphasized the need for measures that may not be popular. He stated that the central bank had presented a package of measures to the Sri Lankan government to ease shortages and control inflation.

De Silva stated that the country's debt trajectory is not sustainable and attributed the worsening of domestic problems to government policies.

The tax cuts and the overnight ban on agricultural inputs caused a massive shock, as stated by him, referring to the 2019 government-imposed tax cuts that resulted in a significant drop in tax revenues during the pandemic.

Due to environmental concerns, the government imposed a ban on chemical fertilizer imports last year, sparking protests from farmers. However, due to pressure from farmers, the government has now lifted the ban.

"I hope the powers-that-be heed the advice of the opposition to have a proper discussion with the IMF and avoid a hard default, as well as negotiate a pre-emptive restructuring with bondholders," de Silva said.