State Minister Dr. Harsha De  Silva who recently ran into a social media storm over his remarks on the deprecition of currency, has voluntarily stepped down from a visit to the London Stock Exchange to help the government solve the foreign exchange management issue. 

Writing a letter to the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, De Silva had said he decided to withdraw from the event, "inn light of the current challenges the government is facing in the foreign exchange management.

In the same letter, he had said Finance State Minister Eran Wickremaratne, the other government representative selected for the tour, could articulate the government's position at the event. 

"Yesterday I sent official letter to SEC cancelling the visit to the London Stock Exchange where I was billed to speak. I had already informed them earlier. Also for those critics of large entourages (rightly so) please note that I have never even taken my wife or any other staff member on any visit overseas on a state expense even when I was at the Foreign Ministry," De Silva posted on Facebook after sending the letter. 

This came in the wake of the controversy on the State Minister;s remark where he urged the upper middle class to postpone purchases of their luxury cars and "trips to Alaska" to help the government offset the fireign exchange. 

Commenting on the statement, many asked why the government, of which de Silva is a member, could not start this process by cutting down its own expenses.