Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa may offer to resign as prime minister on Monday, according to political sources, as pressure mounts on the embattled government led by his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to form an interim administration to overcome the country's most severe economic crisis.

Under heavy pressure from his own Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ranks to resign, Rajapaksa, 76, gathered his supporters to exert counterpressure against his decision to step down.

His younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, wanted him to resign, but he did not directly express this desire. According to insiders, the President desires his resignation to form a government of national unity, an interim solution until the current economic crisis can be resolved.

He may not submit a formal resignation, "Dayasiri Jayasekera, a rebel from the ruling coalition, told PTI.

I believe he would say that I am not responsible for the current problem, so I have no reason to quit. "Jayasekera stated that he would throw the ball in Gotabaya Rajapaksa's court, implying that Gotabaya could fire him if he so desired.

Gotabaya, 72, and Prime Minister Mahinda have refused to resign despite rising pressure.

On Sunday, at the holy city of Anuradhapura, the Rajapaksa clan leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was met with public ire. He was jeered and insulted by the enraged citizens who had taken to the streets to demand fuel, cooking gas, and an end to power outages.

Protesters demand the whole Rajapaksa family leave politics and repay the country's allegedly stolen assets.

The influential Buddhist Clergy had also exerted pressure on the prime minister and cabinet to quit to pave the way for an interim government.

On Sunday, Sri Lanka's largest opposition party, the SJB, announced that its leader, Sajith Premadasa, has rejected an offer from the country's embattled president, Gotabaya, to head an interim government. This comes amid continued political uncertainty in the country, which is currently under an emergency.

Jayasekera stated that the 11-party alliance of the dissident group would meet again on Monday to discuss methods to end the problem.

He was optimistic about forming an interim government should Mahinda Rajapaksa resign.

The public protests gain strength daily as gasoline and gas lines become longer. The possibility of increasing the present duration of power outages is also imminent.

On Sunday, intensive discussions were held at the Sri Lankan Bar Association (BASL). They demand a unity government with a cabinet restricted to 15 members for 18 months, during which a multitude of constitutional amendments is to be implemented.

In an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Friday, President Rajapaksa announced a state of emergency effective at midnight Friday. This is the second emergency to be proclaimed within a month.

Due to a lack of foreign currency, the country cannot afford to pay for imports of essential foods and fuel, resulting in severe shortages and astronomically high costs.

Since April 9, tens of thousands of Sri Lankans have taken to the streets to protest the government's inability to pay for direct imports; prices of essential goods have risen, and there are severe shortages of fuel, medicines, and electricity.