| COLOMBO: Two Buddhist monk legislators were hospitalised on Tuesday after being punched by ruling party lawmakers in an unprecedented brawl in Sri Lankaâs parliament. Monks Akmeemana Dayaratne and Kolonnawe Sri Sumangala, who are opposition MPs, were punched by lay legislators and admitted to the Jayewardenepura hospital. The ruling Freedom Alliance is furious with Dayaratne, who was sworn in Tuesday to replace a fellow monk legislator who had broken ranks to support the shaky government. âI have worked in this parliament for over 20 years but have never seen such disgraceful behaviour,â a parliamentary official said. The monksâ National Heritage Party condemned the attack but said they were not surprised as government MPs had thrown files and paper balls at the monks during three previous sittings of the House. âPeople in this country have tremendous respect for Buddhist monks, but to see MPs hitting monks in parliament is not something that people will accept,â party spokesman Udaya Gamamanpila said, adding âThis is a disgrace.â |