Regretting the incident, he said the attackers would be punished, adding that leaders of the parties too, should be held responsible.

Meanwhile, speaker Karu Jayasuriya says the incident is a black mark in the parliamentary history.

He adjourned sittings until 1.00 pm tomorrow and appointed a committee to report on the incident.

Political analysts say this is the first time that blood was shed in an attack in the Chamber.

Attackers of Samarasinghe have been identified as UPFA’s Prasanna Ranaweera from Gampaha and Piyal Nishantha from Kalutara.

Both have been elected to parliament for the first time.

On a previous occasion, Gamini Lokuge attacked Vasudeva Nanayakkara in the Chamber, but no blood was shed on that occasion.