Oppn raises concern over Parliament security at all-party meet with Speaker

Opposition leaders Wednesday raised concern over the "major security breach" in Parliament and demanded a probe into the matter as well as the implementation of strict measures in the new building like that in the old one.

Two persons jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by MPs. Around the same time, a man and a woman also sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting slogans "tanashahi nahi chalegi" outside the Parliament premises.

All four have been detained by security forces.

Some TMC MPs compared the incident with the expulsion of their party colleague Mahua Moitra and demanded action against the BJP MPs who allegedly helped the accused get passes to enter Parliament.

 

Two persons involved in the incident have been identified as Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan. Sharma had come to the visitor's gallery as a guest of Mysuru Lok Sabha member Prathap Simha.

At an all-party meeting convened by Speaker Om Birla in the wake of the security lapse, some leaders pointed at shortcomings in the security protocol, driven in part by the shortage of parliamentary staff assigned to enforce it.

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, after the meeting, said the leaders of various parties demanded a thorough investigation into the incident.

He said it had been made public that a terrorist organisation was planning to attack Parliament on December 13 and this information was also available to the government.

"Still, why did such a lapse happen? Arrangements for visitors and security checks have not been made in the new parliament building. All, including MPs, security personnel and visitors are allowed (into the building) through one gate," Chowdhury said.

Asserting that Wednesday's incident was a major security lapse, the Congress MP said, "Surprisingly, the two people were allowed to stay in the visitor's gallery even after their time has elapsed."

The Congress leader said the Delhi Police takes care of outside arrangements and Parliament security takes care of internal security.

"There are 150 vacancies for security personnel," he pointed out and said that the vacant posts should have been filled up before the new parliament building was inaugurated.

There seems to be some lapse in the coordination between the Delhi Police, which comes under the Home Ministry, and Parliament security, Chowdhury said.

"At the all-party meeting, we demanded that there should be a proper investigation into this incident and we also gave some suggestions," he said, adding that the Lok Sabha Speaker has assured the members of the House that a high-level inquiry would be initiated into this incident.

Attendees at the meeting raised the issue of imposing more restrictions inside Parliament but said that enhanced security should not affect their contact with the media.

DMK's Tiruchi Siva said those who jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery were not wounded and "it seems that they were trained". He said the incident happened on the day Parliament was attacked by terrorists 22 years ago.

"It seems that someone is signalling something. This is a security lapse. Never has such an incident happened inside Parliament after Independence," Siva said.

TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay alleged that proper attention was not paid to the security of the new Parliament building.

"Today we are learning there are more than 130 vacancies of security officer in Parliament. Mahua Moitra was expelled for sharing Parliament login with an outsider, but today three MPs helped these people (accused) get passes. We have sought details of MPs who got them passes. Is this not a security lapse?

"This is an issue of national security and we want to see what action is taken against those who helped these people get visitor passes... We will meet at (Congress chief Mallikarjun) Kharge ji's residence and will discuss the matter," he said.

Kalyan Banerjee, also of the TMC, said termed the incident inside Parliament a "terrorist activity" and sought to know if there was a Khalistani link to the security lapse.

"There should be a proper investigation into who allowed them entry into Parliament and who are the people who helped them get passes. The BJP MPs who helped them should not get away," Banerjee said.

He also raised the issue of Mahua Moitra's expulsion and said she had shared Parliament login with an outsider but here it is a question of giving visitor passes to outsiders.

According to sources, the Lok Sabha speaker is likely to write to the Home Ministry seeking a security review of Parliament.