SRI LANKA’S parliament passed a no-confidence motion against newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa amid raucous opposition yesterday, throwing the country deeper into crisis. Rajapaksa’s allies said they could not accept the vote, shouting “this is illegal.” Sri Lanka has been in turmoil since President Maithripala Sirisena fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last month, replaced him with Rajapaksa and dissolved parliament. The Supreme Court stayed a presidential decree to dissolve parliament and hold fresh elections Tuesday and the house sat again yesterday. “The (no-confidence) motion was taken to vote by voice on the floor and it had a majority support. Now we are going to sign the papers,” R. Sambanthan, leader of an opposition group bitterly opposed to Rajapaska, told reporters. Five other opposition law makers also confirmed the move.(SD-Agencies) |