Colombo, Feb 6 (PTI) The members of the previous government received excessive compensation for suffering property damage during the people's uprising in 2022, the parliament was informed on Thursday.

Minister of Health Nalinda Jayathissa charged in parliament that the former government members had abused power to receive compensation beyond the usual limits.

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“The maximum amount of compensation for property loss or damage is Rs 2.5 million even in the event of complete property loss during a national disaster,” Jayathissa said making a statement.

He said 43 of them had received Rs 1.22 billion in compensation.

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On May 9, 2022 the government parliamentarians' properties had come under attack by the angry protesters.

Violence erupted when the government supporters attacked a peaceful demonstration held for months demanding the resignation of the then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa for his mishandling of the island nation's economy.

Rajapaksa resigned two months later when an angry mob surrounded his house. He fled to Maldives and resigned later from Singapore.

During the violence, a government parliamentarian was murdered on the street while nearly 100 others suffered destruction of property.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)