Opposition demands Shah's statement on Parliament security breach

Several opposition MPs on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Home Minister Amit Shah after two visitors jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery and opened canisters that emitted coloured smoke, triggering panic among the members.

The Congress demanded answers from the government and a statement from Shah in both houses of Parliament on the 'serious security breach', saying does the incident 'not prove that necessary precautions were not taken'.

Two persons jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour and 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.

The Congress, which was demanding that the home minister comes to Rajya Sabha and makes a statement, later walked out of the upper house in protest.

'INDIA parties walked out of the Rajya Sabha this afternoon on the issue of the extraordinary events in the Lok Sabha today and the refusal of the Home Minister to make a statement on the matter, especially after such a huge breach of security on the very same day Parliament was attacked 22 years ago,' All India Congress Committee general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

In another post, he said, 'The Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha kept accusing INDIA parties of 'politicising' the shocking and apalling breach of security WITHIN the Lok Sabha today.'

'He had no answers to serious questions being raised on how such a breach could take place in a building heralded by the PM for its technological marvels, and how the intruders had come as visitors thanks to a high-profile sitting BJP MP from Karnataka.'

In an apparent swipe at the prime minister, the Congress put out a post showing the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP MP Pratap Simha saying, 'Infiltration in Parliament on the pass of BJP MP Pratap Simha'.

''Na hi wahan koi ghus aaya hai, na hi wahan kisi ne kisi ko ghusaya hai' (Neither has anyone entered there, nor has anyone allowed anyone to enter there),' the caption on the picture said in an apparent reference to prime minister's words during an all-party meet after Chinese intrusions on the border in Eastern Ladakh.

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

In a post on X, party president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the security breach that took place in Parliament is a very serious matter.

'We demand that the Home Minister should come to both the Houses and give a statement on this. The question is, how did two people come inside such a big security department and release gas from a canister there,' he said.

'Today, on Martyr's Day, we paid tribute to the brave security personnel who lost their lives in the attack on Parliament 22 years ago. We hope that the government will take this very seriously. We demand a thorough investigation into the entire incident. We always want unity and integrity of the country,' he wrote.

Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said 'those who can release smoke can also burst deadly bombs'.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal also demanded a thorough review of the security arrangements in Parliament.

'The infiltration in the Lok Sabha is extremely troubling, especially on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attacks. I am glad there was no major injury or damage done to anyone.

'Parliament is among the most high-security buildings of our country. Such a major security lapse is unacceptable. We demand answers from the Home Ministry and there must be a thorough review of the security arrangements in the new Parliament building,' he said in a post on X.

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said this was a major security breach inside Parliament on the anniversary of the 2001 attack on Parliament.

"While we agree this attack is not the same as that one, does this not prove that necessary precautions were not taken," he said.

MP Shashi Tharoor alleged the new Parliament 'does not seem to be configured very well when it comes to security" and the home minister "must come with a detailed response on the security arrangements'.

Party MP Manickam Tagore asked whether action will be taken against Simha for providing the pass to one of the intruders.

'Will action be taken against the BJP MP who gave the Pass? When an MP lost her seat for Password. Two rules for two MPs?' he wrote on X.

In a post on X, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, 'Saw two young men unleash foul smelling yellow coloured gas from canisters inside Parliament gallery. MPs rushed to grab these men. One person was raising some slogans. This raises serious questions on another aspect of the new Parliament building- security.'

Party MP Karti Chidambaram said the Zero Hour was going on in the House and he was awaiting his turn to speak.

Suddenly, it appeared that one person had fallen down from the visitors gallery, he noted.

'Then we realised that it was a deliberate act of him jumping into the well. There was another person, both of them pulled out canisters which were emitting yellow smoke,' he said.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, 'Two people entered the house and filled the house with 'smoke'. Today is the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attack on Parliament - and how is such a major lapse in Parliament security possible even today?'

'After all, who were these people whose entry passes were made by BJP's Mysore MP Pratap Simha,' she asked.

Several opposition MPs also alleged that security arrangements in the new Parliament building is not sufficient and needs to be addressed immediately.

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said the home minister should resign as he failed to ensure the safety of Parliament.

"Amit Shah should resign immediately. There is no security planning. The gallery is right above us ... ," he said.

"If Parliament security can be breached this way, how can the country be secure?" he asked.

He said the incident could have been more serious and questioned the Union home ministry's functioning.

"It could have been a repeat of the 2001 incident. What is the intelligence department of the home ministry doing? Nothing. The home minister is giving big speeches and cannot even maintain security in Parliament," Banerjee said.

Hanuman Beniwal, among the MPs who caught the intruders, said it should be investigated who endorsed the visitors' passes for them.

"More than 150 MPs were present during Zero Hour ... They (intruders) tried to come to the speaker's chair. They had something in their shoes," Beniwal said.

"It should be investigated whose guests they were. They said, 'We are protesting, we do not have any (other) purpose'...," he said.

"They thought they will become heroes ... we taught them a lesson," the MP from Rajasthan said.

Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali claimed one of the intruders was the guest of Simha.

MP N K Premchandan, meanwhile, said the security lapse was very serious as there was a threat by Sikhs for Justice chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun to attack Parliament.

"It is an attack on Indian democracy. It is a great lapse on part of the home ministry. Two weeks ago, a threat was there from Khalistani Pannun. Security personnel say they had ratified the threat and said 'we are on alert'," the MP from Kerala said.

"It is quiet unfortunate on the same day (as the 2001 attack) this incident happened ... It is a great security lapse that is happened even after a warning by terrorist groups," he added.

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, meanwhile, said concerns about security were raised by several MPs during the special session in September when several visitors resorted to sloganeering inside the House.

"This is not an incident but an accident. On this day in 2001, our Parliament was attacked. Treasury and Opposition leaders were standing together that day. However, today, they (Treasury leaders) are not accepting and responding on the issue," he said.

"Doubts were expressed over the security arrangements in this building. The day the women's reservation bill was passed, there were visitors shouting slogans hailing the prime minister. We said tomorrow someone may shout 'murdabad' slogans. Someone may throw something ... We are seeing the result of what they have started. There is a security lapse," he said.

Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said she raised concerns over security during the last session as well but those were ignored.

"In the last session, the special session, I had written to the (Rajya Sabha) chairman that the way sloganeering was being done, who were the MPs who enabled them to come inside should be probed. Yesterday (Tuesday) as well, I raised the issue of threat by Khalistani terrorists to attack Parliament, even that was ignored," she said.

"The number of visitors that come and are given no instruction on what should be done and what should not be done, it shows this is a security breach," she said.