Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the economy was handed over to them by the previous government with a "financial time bomb". 

Addressing a press conference at Sirikotha, Samaraweera said Sri Lanka managed currency depreciation than everyone else in the world. 

"India, Pakistan and many other countries got into bigger crises. The depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee stands at 10% and we have only spent USD 250 million to stabilize the rupee" the Finance and Media Minister explained. 

"During the Rajapaksa era, the rupee depreciated by 14% at one point and USD 4.1 billion was released to the market to save the currency. The total exports stood at 33% of GDP in 2006 and it came down to 14% in 2014. That's how the Rajapaksa regime destroyed our economy," he added. 

"The Rajapaksa supporters talk as if they were born yesterday. They have forgotten how their leader systemically destroyed the economy and the export sector." 

Samaraweera also added that the government had steered the economy towards strengthening the export sector whilst developing rural infrastructure through the Gamperaliya programme and promoting entrepreneurship. 

"Under Gamperaliya, 33875 projects are underway in many parts of the country. Under Enterprise Sri Lanka, loans have been granted to 26978 entrepreneurs," he added. 

"With all this, we haven't slowed down the country's development. Railway tracks have been almost completed up to Beliatte," Samaraweera said, asserting that the depreciation of the rupee was not a sign of a collapsing economy.