Sri Lankan Parliament disrupted again, adjourned until Monday amid political crisis
Colombo, Nov 16 : Sri Lanka's Parliament witnessed chaos for a second day Friday as MPs loyal to disputed prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa occupied the seat of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and shouted slogans, forcing him to summon police inside the House and adjourning the session until Monday.
The brawl occurred a day after the Speaker announced there is no prime minister or government following a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa.
Friday's proceedings were to repeat the floor test which was disrupted on Thursday.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who installed Rajapaksa as prime minister last month in a controversial move, had agreed for a floor test with the leaders of ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's coalition during crisis talks last night.
The MPs supporting Rajapaksa took over the seat of the Speaker, delaying the proceedings, officials said. They shouted slogans against Jayasuriya.
The Speaker summoned police inside Parliament chamber after 45 minutes of disruption. One of the rioting MPs Arundika Fernando occupied the seat of the Speaker with more MPs surrounding it.
Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, a senior parliamentarian, was injured in the melee.
The rioting United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) members demanded the arrest of two legislators of the Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP). They charged that two UNP legislators, Palitha Thewarapperuma and Ranjan Ramanayake were carrying knives during the brawl which took place yesterday.
Yesterday, UPFA MP Dilum Amunugama was injured in clashes inside the chamber.
Police Friday protected Jayasuriya from the rioting MPs as he called the Tamil National Alliance lawmaker MA Sumanthiran to propose the suspension of the standing orders. Jayasuriya on the basis of a voice vote announced that the motion against Rajapaksa was defeated as physical voting could not take place due to the brawl.
The rioting MPs threw books at the police. Jayasuriya immediately suspended the sittings until November 19 and left the House surrounded by police.
President Sirisena said that he would not 'prorogue the Parliament under any circumstances.'
"I urge all Parliamentarians to uphold principles of democracy parliamentary traditions at all times. I will not prorogue Parliament under any circumstances," the president tweeted.
The trouble erupted in Parliament on Thursday when the Speaker agreed to a request from ousted premier Wickremesinghe's UNP that a vote be taken on a statement made by Rajapaksa demanding fresh polls.
Jayasuriya allowed Rajapaksa to make a statement as a lawmaker after stating that he does not recognise the claim of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leader who lost a no-confidence motion on Wednesday.
Rajapaksa's side has disputed the no-trust motion, saying proper procedure was not followed and accused Jayasuriya of bias towards his own party.
Parliament on Wednesday passed the no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa after the Supreme Court overturned the presidential decree to dissolve the House and hold snap polls on January 5.
Amid raucous scenes, Parliament on Wednesday met for the first time since October 26, when Sirisena sacked premier Wickremesinghe, installed Rajapaksa in his place and suspended the House, plunging the island nation into an unprecedented Constitutional crisis.
The vote of no confidence against Rajapaksa has further complicated the political crisis. It is not yet clear whether Rajapaksa will resign or whether the ousted Wickremesinghe, who has the support of 122 lawmakers in the 225-member House, will return to power.
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Eid al-Fitr celebrated with great joy, devotion in Dakshina Kannada
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Mangaluru: Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, was celebrated by Muslims in Dakshina Kannada on Friday with great joy and fervor.
They gathered in large numbers and offered Namaz with devotion in mosques, where Eid Khutba and spiritual discourse were organized, after which, they shared wishes with hand shakes and hugs.
Later, they visited the graves of deceased family members and prayed for the departed souls.
The Muslims, from children to elderly citizens, dressed themselves in new clothes, applied 'attar' and had special food and sweets prepared for Eid.
They also visited their relatives', friends' and neighbors' houses and wished them for the festival.
At the Eidgah Juma Masjid on Lighthouse Hill in Mangaluru, DK District Qazi Alhaj Twaka Ahmed Musliyar recited the Khutba.
The Eid Namaz was held under the leadership of Khatib Syed Shamsuddin Basit Ba Alavi Tanl Al Ansari of Zeenat Bakhsh Kendra Juma Masjid, Bandar.
President of the Zeenat Bakhsh Kendra Juma Masjid and Eidgah Juma Masjid, Alhaj Yenepoya Abdullah Kunhi, Vice President K Ashraf, Treasurer SM Rashid Haji and others participated.
Assembly Speaker UT Khader, MLC Ivan D'Souza, City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy and other officials paid a cordial visit and wished them on the occasion.
Eid Namaz and Khutba were offered at the Ullal Kendra Juma Masjid under the leadership of Khatib Hafil Abdul Majeed Falili Hikami Sakhafi, with Ullal Dargah President BJ Hanif Haji and others participating in the celebration. 
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