Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera today invited former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for a public debate over the current debt situation of Sri Lanka. 

"I would like to invite @PresRajapaksa for a public debate on national debt stock and debt servicing as the former Finance Minister," Samaraweera tweeted, a short while ago. 

Rajapaksa recently described the current administration as a "Pick Pocket government" as it seeks more loans from foreign countries while talking about the debts obtained by the previous government. 

The former President's camp is yet to respond to the Finance Minister's challenge.