Brawl erupts in Lankan parliament

COLOMBO, Jan 10 (Xinhua): A tense situation erupted in Sri Lankan parliament on Wednesday as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe read out a statement to the House over a treasury bond scam committed at the central bank.

Opposition legislators launched a protest in the middle of the House as Wickremesinghe read out his statement, calling for the parliament speaker to divulge the details of the treasury bond scam which had been probed by a special presidential commission.

The situation soon turned violent when an object was hurled at the prime minister.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya suspended sittings for 10 minutes in order to restore normalcy.

Even after the 10-minute suspension, a fist fight was reported between opposition and government legislators.

The treasury is said to have lost 11,145 million rupees (about 72 million US dollars) due to the Treasury bond scam and other malpractices which was allegedly committed under the watch of former central bank chief Arjuna Mahendran.