Sri Lanka president's brother, Basil Rajapaksa, resigns from parliament

FILE PHOTO: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's brother, Basil Rajapaksa, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Colombo April 10, 2012. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO (Reuters) - The brother of Sri Lanka's president and the country's former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa said on Thursday that he had resigned from parliament, the second from the influential family to step away from government amid a severe economic crisis.

"From today I will not be involved in any government activities but I cannot and will not step away from politics," Rajapaksa told reporters.