Several Opposition members on Wednesday demanded an explanation from the Government regarding the security breach in the Lok Sabha. They also claimed that security arrangements in the new Parliament building are not sufficient and need to be addressed immediately. The TMC demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Rajya Sabha saw sloganeering, and some Opposition members walked out in protest after their demand for the adjournment of the House and the presence of Shah in the House was not met.

Parties of the Opposition INDIA Bloc will hold a meeting on Thursday morning to discuss their future course of action regarding the security breach in Parliament and are planning to meet President Droupadi Murmu.

Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay announced that the Opposition parties will gather at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence on Thursday morning to address the matter.

Sources have indicated that Opposition leaders are contemplating seeking statements from the Government in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the security breach.

The Opposition parties will jointly decide the future course of action.

Amid sloganeering, Leader of the Upper House and Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, “The Rajya Sabha is the House of Elders. We should convey a message that the country is above all this. We must let the House function. The Congress is indulging in the politicisation of the issue, which will not be good for the nation. An enquiry is being conducted. Let us wait for its findings and allow the House to function smoothly.”

“Earlier, when the House reassembled at 2 pm, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the MPs about the security breach in the Lok Sabha, as some members sought to raise the issue.

“The information I have is that the intruders in the Lok Sabha visitors’ gallery have been immediately apprehended. The parliamentary security service is examining the matter forthwith. We will apprise the members of the results before I adjourn for the day,” Dhankhar said.”

Raising the issue of the security breach, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge termed it a “very serious matter”. He stated that opposition members have also participated in a tribute to those who laid down their lives for the country. ‘We are always ready for the country’s unity and security. The sacrifices made by our people are unmatched to yours,’ he said.”

As some Opposition members were shouting slogans, Dhankhar asked them not to do so, stating that the House is ‘not a place to shout slogans.’

“We need not politicise every issue politically. It is a security issue,” the Rajya Sabha chairman said. He observed that the Lok Sabha is currently functioning in a good environment and transacting legislative business.

Kharge further stated, “You allowed the House to function, but this is a very serious problem. It is not just a question of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. The question is how two people managed to intrude in the presence of such a large security apparatus.”

To this, Dhankhar remarked that the moment he came to know about the incident, the Director of Security was called by him.

“I told him to give me an update. I have shared with the House the update which he gave me at that point in time. It is a matter of concern, but let us await full details, and I think we’ll be able to reflect,” he added.

When Dhankhar sought time to share more details, Kharge said, “people are dying, and you are talking about giving it time”.

However, the sloganeering continued amid the discussion on the consideration and passage of the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2023, tabled by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, even as Dhankhar requested members to sit down and let the House function.

He appealed to the Leader of the Opposition, saying he has called the Director of Security and they have been apprehended, to which Kharge requested the Upper House to be adjourned and let Shah come in.

Dhankhar further said it is an issue where “we should deliberate in all seriousness and in a composed atmosphere”.

Meanwhile, the Congress sought answers from the Government and a statement from Shah in both Houses of Parliament on the serious security breach in the Lok Sabha, saying, does the incident “not prove that necessary precautions were not taken”.

The Congress, which was demanding that Shah 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,” AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

In an apparent swipe at the Prime Minister, the Congress put out a post showing the picture of 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, now 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, Kharge 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 the unity and integrity of the country.”

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 in 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 the 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.

In a post on X, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, “I saw two young men unleash foul-smelling yellow-colored 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.

Kalyan Banerjee (TMC) said Shah should resign as he failed to ensure the safety of Parliament. “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,’ Mamata 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.”

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the incident raises several questions, adding that they have learned that a ruling party MP endorsed the intruders’ passes.

“It raises a number of questions. They were brought in by a ruling party MP, so we need to find out more details. Despite existing security precautions, they were able to smuggle in smoke pistols that were used to fire yellow smoke, creating panic among some members,” he said.

“These people did something that did not cause much damage, but imagine if it had been more serious... It is a matter serious enough that the home minister himself may want to explain to the nation about the security lapses and security arrangements,” he said.

“Many people feel the arrangements in the new Parliament building for security are much less satisfactory than the old Parliament building. We have to see what can be done to modify those on an urgent footing,” Tharoor added.

Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali claimed one of the intruders was the guest of Mysore MP Pratap Simha. MP NK 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 the 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 quite unfortunate that on the same day (as the 2001 attack) this incident happened... It is a significant security lapse that happened even after a warning by terrorist groups,” he added.

RJD 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 to 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 (UBT) 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 the 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.