Power struggle deepens in Lanka as Rajapaksa, Wickremesinghe continue to fight it out

fight-in-lankan-parl Unruly scenes unfolding in the Sri Lankan parliament | Bhanu Prakash Chandra

Punches were swung into the air. Baskets flew. Papers were strewn. Men in white cotton robes and sashes pushed each other, rolled on the floor, and shouted with their fists up. One of them pulled a microphone. One appeared to be with a knife in his hand. A day after legislators passed a motion against purported Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, there was pandemonium inside the Sri Lankan parliament on Thursday.

When the house was reconvened, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said, “According to the vote of confidence yesterday, there is no prime minister or cabinet of ministers as of now. All those posts are invalidated by the vote.”

Legislators were up in arms as Rajapaksa was allowed by the speaker to deliver a speech.

“Being a prime minister is no big deal for me,” said Rajapaksa and went on to accuse the United National Party (UNP) and its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe for the failures the country is facing. Unruly scenes began to unfold in the both the treasury and the opposition benches soon. Even as the speaker was trying to calm down the legislators, waste paper baskets and water bottles were thrown at him.

After Rajapaksa concluded his speech, the speaker tried to hold a vote, asking the MPs to accept or reject the former's remarks. Soon, more than three dozen MPs moved to the speaker’s mace, shouting at him. Many MPs pushed each other, some were pushed so hard that they fell to the ground. Some of the MPs were seen trying to throw punches at each other; a waste paper basket and a water bottle was hurled from the treasury benches towards the speaker. As the water spilled on the speaker's chair, legislators supporting Rajapaksa even made fun of the speaker. Rajapaksa supporter Dilum Amunugama was seen bleeding as he tried to pull the speaker’s microphone. He was hospitalised.

The chaos lasted for 30 minutes, forcing Jayasuriya to abandon the session and leave the chair. Soon, Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa left from their chamber quietly.

“This is the most shameful day in the parliament,” said Harsha de Silva, a MP from UNP.

At a press conference held outside after the session was ended abruptly, both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe blamed each other for the chaotic scenes inside the parliament.

A rally organised by UNP at Lipton Circus in Colombo later in the day witnessed a large turnout. Raising slogans against the President Maithripala Sirisena and Rajapaksa's attempt for a back door entry, the UNP cadres hailed their leader Wickremesinghe.

The UNP, which for the past three weeks was fighting hard to retain power, seems to have adapted a new rhetoric, toeing the same line as Rajapaksa's SLPP which is demanding election. An angry Wickremesinghe said to the enthusiastic crowd, “Today speaker Karu Jayasuriya declared in parliament that Mahinda Rajapaksa’s purported government stands dissolved. Let us form a government and go for an election with the consent of all parties. We will hold parliamentary and presidential election together.”.

This statement by Wickremesinghe has, in fact, changed the tone of Sri Lankan politics.

Meanwhile, the parliament is all set to reconvene on Friday.

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