BJP MP Pratap Simha is a two-term MP from Mysuru in Karnataka, having won the Lok Sabha elections in both 2014 and 2019.
Published Dec 20, 2023 | 11:25 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 20, 2023 | 11:25 AM
File photo of Mallikarjun Kharge. (Twitter)
On Wednesday, 20 December, the Congress slammed the government over the Parliament security breach issue and asked why BJP MP Pratap Simha, “who facilitated the entry of the two intruders” into the Lok Sabha, has not been questioned even a week after the incident.
In a post on X, Congress national chief Mallikarjun Kharge wrote, “141 MPs have been suspended because they wanted a statement from the Home Minister on the grave security breach. 6 intruders have been booked under anti-terror, UAPA law. The BJP MP who facilitated the entry of the intruders remains scot-free and has not yet been questioned. What sort of investigation is this?”
Listing a series of questions, Kharge wrote, “Why haven’t senior officers responsible for Parliamentary security been made accountable? Heads should have rolled in by now. Apparently the intruders have been planning this since months, who is responsible for this massive intelligence failure?”
Given the multi-layered security of the Parliament, how did two intruders manage to hide yellow gas canisters in their shoes and enter the building and almost reach the sanctum sanctorum of India’s democracy, Kharge asked in his post.
“The Prime Minister and his party want to establish a ‘single party rule’ in the country. They talk of ‘Ek Akela’, which is akin to demolishing democracy. This is precisely what they have done by suspending Opposition MPs,” he charged.
141 MPs have been suspended because they wanted a statement from the Home Minister on the grave security breach.
6 intruders have been booked under anti-terror, UAPA law.
The BJP MP who facilitated the entry of the intruders, remains scot-free and has not yet been questioned.…
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) December 20, 2023
He rued that Instead of punishing the people in high ranks for this shameful security lapse, they have snatched away the democratic rights of MPs, thereby escaping accountability.
The Opposition party’s attack came a day after 49 more Opposition lawmakers were suspended from Lok Sabha on Tuesday for unruly behaviour, taking the total number of MPs facing action in both Houses of Parliament to 141. The INDIA coalition announced nationwide anti-government protests on Friday.
In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam R’amesh said, “It has been exactly a week since the very serious security breach in the Lok Sabha shocked the nation. The Prime Minister, Home Minister, and the Lok Sabha Speaker say that an investigation has started. So be it.”
However, like Kharge, he asked, “But why is it that even after seven days BJP MP Pratap Simha who facilitated the entry of the two intruders into the Lok Sabha has not yet been questioned?”
It has been exactly a week since the very serious security breach in the Lok Sabha shocked the nation. The Prime Minister, Home Minister and the Lok Sabha Speaker say that an investigation has started. So be it.
But why is it that even after 7 days the BJP MP Pratap Simha who…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 20, 2023
Ramesh said that this is a very bizarre situation as the intruders themselves have been charged under the anti-terrorist law UAPA.
“Meanwhile, 142 INDIA MPs have been suspended for making the basic, straightforward and fully legitimate demand of a statement by the Home Minister in Parliament on the 13 December incidents,” he said.
While 141 MPs have been suspended this session, AAP member Sanjay Singh was suspended as a Rajya Sabha member from 24 July.
Even as the Opposition bloc slammed as “undemocratic” the suspension of MPs for display of placards demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the security breach in Parliament, the government justified the action as it accused the suspended MPs of insulting Lok Sabha Speaker, Rajya Sabha Chairman, and the institution of Parliament.
On the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, two men jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by MPs.
Around the same time, two others, including a woman, raised slogans and released yellow smoke from canisters outside the Parliament premises, prompting police to round up the duo.
