The tiff between the BJP-ruled Centre and Congress-led Opposition parties escalated on Friday, with the latter not allowing the functioning of Parliament, even as the former asserted that the high-level probe on the Parliament security breach is underway. The functioning of the Lok Sabha and THE Rajya Sabha was completely washed out as Opposition MPs continued with their protest, demanding a statement on the issue from Home Minister Amit Shah and a discussion in both Houses.

The treasury bench had low attendance as most of the BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet members, were in Jaipur to attend the oath ceremony of the new Chief Minister.

Sources informed The Pioneer that several rounds of high-level meetings at the Secretary and MHA levels were conducted to prepare a comprehensive report on the incident and to strategise ways to prevent similar incidents  at key government buildings.

The Opposition members also protested the suspension of their 14 MP colleagues after they raised their demand for a statement from Shah on the security breach and a discussion thereafter on Thursday.

The protest was also joined by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Amid demands from Opposition leaders for a statement from the Home Minister on the incident, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi stated that both Parliament buildings fall under the purview of the Lok Sabha Speaker.

“Both the buildings are under the speaker’s purview. We are following the speaker’s order. A high-level enquiry is going on. Saying that we will not allow the House to function... They (opposition) should behave responsibly,” he said.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur hit out at the Opposition parties, saying they are trying to politicise the Parliament security breach matter and using it as an excuse to halt House proceedings.

“After losing the elections in three States, the Opposition is trying to find an excuse to halt the proceedings of the House. They are creating obstacles, even as the Speaker of the House spoke to the representatives of the Opposition parties, took their suggestions, and also assured improvement in security. It can be clearly seen that they are trying to do politics,” Thakur said.

Asked about the Opposition’s allegation that the Centre is trying to suppress its voice, Joshi said, “No one is trying to suppress anyone’s voice; it is their opinion. I want to say, come and debate. Two bills are listed today. On Monday, there are three important bills to replace the IPC, the CrPC, and the Evidence Act. We want a detailed discussion. We have allotted 15 hours.”

In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on Wednesday, two men jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during the Zero Hour, released yellow-colored smoke from canisters, and shouted slogans before being overpowered by the MPs. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha said the Opposition leaders are ready to wait for the probe report, but the home minister should come to the House and make a statement on the incident.

“I believe not just the opposition, but those on the treasury benches should also urge the home minister to make a statement. On one hand, they say they will get back PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir), Aksai Chin, and they cannot even protect Parliament,” Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) said. According to sources, during their floor coordination meeting on Friday morning, leaders of the INDIA parties decided to continue their aggressive stance in Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha.