State minister Diana Gamage charged that she was assaulted by a SJB MP outside the parliament chamber today (20).
After she made the claim in a statement to the House, sittings were suspended for 10 minutes on a proposal by the prime minister.
During a preliminary inquiry by the speaker in his chamber, a committee was appointed to look into the matter.
It comprises deputy speaker Ajitha Rajapakse (chairman), Chamal Rajapaksa, Ramesh Pathirana, Gayantha Karunatilake and Imitiaz Bakeer Marker.
However, Gamage objected to the absence of women’s representation in the committee.
According to parliament sources, the state minister had an exchange of words with SJB’s Rohana Bandara near parliament’s library, which was videoed by another SJB MP, Sujith Sanjaya Perera.
This led to another heated exchange between Gamage and Perera, during which a SJB MP grabbed her by the neck and tried to assault her, said the sources.
A TNA MP has intervened and separated the two groups.
The incident went viral on social media with many criticising the behaviour of the SJB parliamentarians.
