Brewing tensions in Sri Lanka's Parliament over a no-confidence motion against the country's newly appointed prime minister boiled over to an all-out brawl between lawmakers on Friday.

President Maithripala Sirisena appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa to the post of PM after he suddenly and controversially sacked his predecessor Ramil Wickremesinghe, but the newcomer faced an immediate backlash in the chamber and lost a no-confidence motion against him which has served to further stoke divisions between lawmakers, reports EFE.

In a chaotic parliamentary session on Friday, 122 of the 225 legislators in the Sri Lankan chamber signed the no-confidence motion which must now be presented for ratification by the President.

"I urge all parliamentarians to uphold principles of democracy," Sirisena said on twitter when ugly scenes broke out in the chamber. "I will not prorogue the Parliament under any circumstances," he added.

It was the second day of scuffles in Parliament amid ongoing political turmoil in Sri Lanka.

--IANS

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