Major security breach in Parl

i: On 22nd anniversary of the Parliament attack on Wednesday, hysteria stormed the Lok Sabha again during the live session as two men jumped from the fourth gallery, designated for the visitors, over the tables of members, shouted slogans, released yellow smoke from canisters and ran towards the Speaker’s chair.

The live broadcast footage showed that during the Question Hour, one of the accused was running over the table and another set off a coloured smoke canister inside the Lower House. Both were identified as Sagar Sharma (26) and Manoranjan D (34). Later, they were arrested by the security personnel.

Around the same time, two others, including a woman, raised slogans and released yellow smoke from canisters outside the Parliament premises, prompting the police to get into action and round up the duo.

The woman has been identified as Neelam (42) from Haryana and Amol Amol Shinde (25) from Maharashtra. 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.

Police sources said the security breach was a “well-planned and well-coordinated” incident carried out by six people, all of whom were in contact with each other over social media platforms.

The incident in the Lok Sabha chamber took place at around 1:01 pm when BJP member Khagen Murmu was raising an issue during Zero Hour. While one started crossing the benches in a bid to approach the Speaker’s chair, the other was seen dangling from the railing of the visitor’s gallery before jumping into the chamber, according to several MPs present in the House.

Alarmed members, including Hanuman Beniwal, Malook Nagar and Gurdip Singh Aujla, overpowered and thrashed the intruders, who had come to the gallery with visitor passes facilitated by two-term Lok Sabha member from Mysuru Prathap Simha of BJP, before handing them over to the security personnel.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and several opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were among the over 100 lawmakers present at the time of the incident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were not in the House as they were away in Bhopal for the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.

Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings immediately for one hour.

Meanwhile, raising question over the security breach, Opposition parties left no stone unturned to attack the ruling BJP as its MP from Mysuru-Kodagu, Pratap Simha’s office issued their visitors’ pass.

Opposition members termed the security breach as the worst since the 2001 terror attack in which 14 persons, including five terrorists who stormed Parliament complex, were killed.

The Congress demanded answers from the government and a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah in both Houses of Parliament on the serious security breach, asking does the incident not prove that necessary precautions were not taken. The Opposition parties also demanded that the home minister come to the Floor of the House and make a statement.

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.

Birla also called for an all-party meeting at 4 pm on the very day and is likely to write to the Home Ministry seeking a security review of Parliament.

An official document states that there was a deficiency of 125 security personnel- 5 security officers, 12 assistant security officers, 45 security assistants in Grade I, and 63 security assistants in Grade II. Birla also ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident. He further lauded the Lok Sabha members, security personnel, chamber staff, and marshals for rising to the occasion and capturing the perpetrators.

“The incident is a matter of concern and we are carrying out a high-level inquiry into this incident. The future course of action will be decided as per the findings of the probe,” the Lok Sabha speaker added.

During the all-party meeting, Trinamool Congress (TMC) cited the expulsion of its MP Mahua Moitra and demanded action against BJP member Prathap Simha, who had facilitated the entry of at least one person who jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber. Whereas, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the members flagged various lapses in the security setup during the meeting with the Speaker.

The entry of visitors into the House has now been suspended, though there is no official communication to this effect.

Rules of the House mandate security staff in the visitors’ gallery to maintain a strict vigil and ensure that the visitors do not indulge in any misbehaviour, with jumping into the chamber of the House out of the question.

Visitors’ (“strangers” in parliamentary parlance) “admission, withdrawal and removal” is governed by Rule 386 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha, which states that “the admission of strangers during the sittings of the House to those portions of the House which are not reserved for the exclusive use of members shall be regulated by orders made by the Speaker”.

Rule 387 gives the Speaker the power to withdraw “strangers” from any part of the House if he/she deems it fit. The visitors’ cards are usually issued to a member for a particular day for fixed hours. However, in exceptional cases, the rules permit the issue of two cards. There is also a provision which allows members to apply for a visitor card on the same day in emergent cases when they can’t apply within the prescribed time limit. According to the Parliament rulebook, the MP has to certify that the “visitor is my relation/personal friend/known to me personally and I take full responsibility for her/him”.

Reportedly, a delegation of Opposition leaders will meet the President on the issue of breach in the security of Parliament. Regarding this, there will be a meeting of the leaders of the INDIA alliance in the Parliament at 10 am on Thursday and time will be sought from the President.

Sources confirmed the Millennium Post that till late evening the accused were interrogated inside the Parliament House by the senior Intelligence Bureau officers.

According to the police, Manoranjan has been making rounds of the parliamentary office for the past three months, aiming to secure entry into the Parliament. The investigation also revealed that Neelam has been associated with the farmers’ protest, actively raising the voices of students. She was studying for a teaching job and had previously appeared for the Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test (HTET) exam.

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. Police also got links of Lalit Jha, Vishal Sharma and Rakhi Sharma, during their interrogation. According to the sources, Lalit was present during the protest outside the Parliament and later absconded. It is also confirmed that Lalit handles social media and uploads their protest videos on several platforms, whereas, other associates of the accused, Vishal and Rakhi Sharma are a couple and residents of Gurugram. Sources also confirmed that the arrested persons stayed at their residence on Tuesday night and left for Parliament in the morning.

Meanwhile, sources confirmed that Vishal has been detained from Gurugram, Delhi Police teams have been sent to various locations to nab Lalit. Police sources further said the Parliament security breach was a well-planned and well-coordinated incident. All of the accused persons were in contact with each other over Instagram and other social media platforms where they hatched the plan.