COLOMBO: Sri Lanka`s parliament voted on Wednesday to evict former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and two others from state-owned mansions under austerity measures introduced by the new leftist government.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake`s party voted en masse to endorse a bill that will repeal a 1986 law that granted former leaders luxury accommodation and secretarial services. Only one opposition MP voted against the bill, which was passed witha two-thirds majority of 150 in the 225-member assembly. The bill was cleared a day after the Supreme Court ruled that stripping former heads of state of their privileges did not violate the constitution.

The legislation followed Rajapaksa`s refusal this yeartovacate alavishresidence in the capital despite repeated requests.

Under the 1986 law, former presidents were also entitled to luxury cars with government-supplied fuel and secretarial staff on top of bodyguards.-AFP