Colombo: Rival politicians have exchanged blows in Sri Lanka's Parliament as the disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed the speaker had no authority to remove him from office by voice vote.

The Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya said the country had no government as Parliament re-c

onvened on Thursday a day after the no-confidence vote against Rajapaksa. He said there was no prime minister, neither Rajapaksa nor his rival whose ousting in late October started the crisis.

Sri Lankan MPs battle it out in Parliament. Credit:AP

More than two dozen politicians fought and some who fell on the floor were kicked by rivals. Some of Rajapaksa's supporters threw water bottles and trash cans in the House. The speaker then adjourned the proceedings of the House.

Rajapaksa said the no-confidence vote should not have been a voice vote. He also called for fresh elections.

AP