<b>Parliament Members fought a pitched battle</b>

T.Sabaratnam

Colombo - July 24: Three law makers were injured and another, a former minister, fell down in the well of the House, when members of the government and the opposition fought a pitched battle in Sri Lankan parliament this morning.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s hand bag controversy, spilled into parliament, whenthe Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapakse, in a statement, demanded an apology and the resignation of Commerce Minister Ravi Karunanayake, who raised the issue last Wednesday, at the Cabinet meeting.

Pandemonium broke out, when Leader of the House W. J. M. Lokubandara rose to defend Karunanayake, who was away in Pakistan negotiating a trade pact. He denied Opposition Leader’s charge that, Karunanayake had said that the President Kumaratunga was carrying a bomb in her hand bag to kill the Prime Mminister, other ministers and herself.

Opposition members pulled out placards denouncing Karunanayake and walked into the well of the House, denouncing the government. Some tried to lift the mace, which the Sergeant-at-Arms prevented.

The government parliamentarians too walked into the well of the House, subsequently a scuffle broke out in which about 30 lawmakers took part.

Olitha Premarathna, Mahinda Rathnathilake and Mahindananda Aluthgamage were injured in the fracas and Janaka Bandaranayake Tennakoon fell down and was hurt.

Speaker Joseph Michael Perera adjourned the house for 15 minites and later adjourned it till Thursday.

President Kumaratunga in a letter, she wrote to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe a few hours before he left for United States on Saturday, charged Karunanayake of accusing her of carrying a bomb in her hand bag. She told the Prime Minister in that letter, that she could not have in her cabinet a person who leveled such a charge against her.

She asked in her letter, Wickremesinghe's his opinion about sacking Karunanayake.

Wickremesinghe, in his reply, denied that Karunanayake had said that she was carrying a bomb in her hand bag. What he had done was to hand him some documents relating to the import of a costly ladies handbag for spying. The bag was fitted with a powerful mini video camera capable of operating in dull light and a powerful tape recorder.

He said those matters were being investigated.

He also reminded her of the agreement they had reached that the cabinet would be appointed in consultation with him.

Kumaratunga repeated her accusation at a public meeting at Polonnaruwa on Sunday and criticized three senior ministers.

Analysts fear of further worsening of relations between the Prime Minister and the President, heads of the legislature and executive respectively.