Sri Lankan Lawmakers Fight in Parliament

Colombo: Sri Lankan lawmakers scuffled in Parliament on Thursday, a day after a no-confidence motion was passed against now disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, in the latest escalation of the political crisis that has left the country without an agreed Prime Minister or Cabinet. The session in the morning was abandoned after Rajapaksa’s supporters rushed at Parliament’s Speaker Karu Jayasuriya after he upheld the motion. “According to the no-confidence vote held yesterday, there is no Prime Minister or Cabinet of ministers as of now as all those posts are invalidated by the vote,” he told Parliament.

Following his remarks, a wastepaper basket, a folder and a copy of the Constitution were thrown at him, according to a report in Daily Mirror. The men in Parliament pushed and jostled each other. Some punched one another while others were seen tumbling down the stairs from the podium. (IANS)

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