New Delhi, Dec 13: The home ministry was on Wednesday asked to launch a security review of Parliament as members of opposition at an all-party meeting demanded a through probe into the incident of two persons jumping into the Lok Sabha chamber and also sought action against BJP MP Prathap Simha who felicitated their passes.
The communication from Lok Sabha Secretary General to Special Secretary (Home) came as Speaker Om Birla convened the all-party meeting in which members from different parties flagged a variety of issues and raised security concerns in Parliament’s new building, more so as the security breach happened on the anniversary of the 2001 terror attack on the institution.
Trinamool Congress members Sudip Bandhopadhya and Kalyan Banerjee cited the expulsion of party member Mahua Moitra for letting outsiders use her log-in credentials as they pressed for action against Simha.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demanded a thorough investigation into the incident, noting that the day marks the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack.
Government sources, however, played down the chances of any serious action against Simha, saying it is a routine practice for MPs to write for passes for people and they cannot be blamed for their conduct.
Birla assured the members that all steps will be taken to step up security and rule out such a breach in future. Some members noted that the distance between galleries and the chamber is much less in the new building of Parliament, and suggested that glass barricade should be raised to avoid any repeat of such an incident.
Several opposition members sought to link the incident to the threats issued by Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, to attack Parliament on or before December 13, the anniversary of the terror attack.
As the proceedings resumed at 2 pm, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said a comprehensive security review of Parliament House would be carried out and at the same time made it clear that the preliminary inquiry did not indicate any links to Pannun.
Lok Sabha officials said the issuance of passes for the visitors’ gallery in the Parliament House has been suspended with immediate effect.
All four persons -Sagar Sharma (26) and Manoranjan D (34), who jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber, and Amol Shinde (25) and Neelam (42) who were nabbed outside Parliament premises- were detained at Parliament Street Police Station for questioning. Police have also detained a fifth person from Gurugram.
Sharma is a resident of Lucknow, Manoranjan hails from Mysuru, Shinde from Latur and Neelam from Hisar. Police sources said all four were staying together at a Gurugram house and they had two more accomplices.
After opening the gas canisters that emitted the smoke outside the Parliament building, Shinde and Neelam also raised slogans such as “Tanashahi Nahi Chalegi” (dictatorship will not be allowed), “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Jai Bheem, Jai Bharat”, police officials said.
Neelam claimed that she was not part of any organisation and was a student who was unemployed. She said she was protesting against alleged injustice against farmers, small traders and marginalised.
Later, the Lok Sabha Speaker chaired an all-party meeting where opposition members sought immediate tightening of security measures at Parliament and questioning of BJP member Simha, a former journalist and author of Modi’s biography.
Facing flak, Simha’s office said Parliamentarians generally entertain requests for visitors’ gallery passes from members of their constituency to witness Parliamentary proceedings.
Members who overpowered the two persons inside the Lok Sabha chamber said,”one of them was saying I am a patriot and came here to protest.” Many Lok Sabha members beat up the intruders before handing them over to security.
JD(U) member Ramprit Mandal said the intruders had hidden the gas canisters in their shoes and sprayed yellow-coloured gas in the chamber. “One of the two was raising slogans ‘Tanashahi nahi chalegi’,” he said.
“Suddenly there was a commotion in the House. One person was seen jumping from one bench to another. It was a very tense moment, anything could have happened. I thought, what if he has a bomb or fire equipment in his pocket? It is a serious security lapse,” Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Trinamool Lok Sabha leader, said.
“Two people jumped from the public gallery, there was smoke and everyone ran. They have been caught by some MPs and security personnel. One of them is Sagar. He was the guest of Mysuru member Prathap Simha,” Lok Sabha member Danish Ali said.
“It is a big security lapse. It is the anniversary of the Parliament attack. This is a matter for probe,” said Ali.
Congress member Karti Chidambaram said the two persons pulled out canisters that were emitting yellow smoke. “The smoke could have been poisonous. It is a serious security breach,” he added. “They started advancing and rushing towards the well of the house and they lit up smoke sticks. Security was compromised,” DMK member D N V Senthil Kumar said on X.
Meanwhile, Devaraje Gowda, father of Manoranjan, said hang my son if he has done something wrong but maintained that his son was a “good boy.” “My son is a good boy. He is honest and truthful. His only desire is to do good for the society and sacrifice for the society. He used to read Swami Vivekananda’s books. I think he developed such thoughts after reading these books,” Gowda told reporters.
“It is difficult to understand what was running through his mind. My son completed his BE (Bachelor in Engineering) in 2016 and was looking after the farm. He also worked in some firms in Delhi and Bengaluru,” he added. (PTI)
