President Maithripala Sirisena broke his silence on the controversial Central Bank Treasury Bond Issue, saying that he asked the Prime Minister to ask the Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran to resign.

Giving a special statement this evening, the President defended many of his actions during the recent weeks including giving nominations to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

However, this was the first time the President spoke on the Central Bank issue, which has been the most serious point on which the opposition has attacked the government.