Subscribe
In the wake of a major security breach in the Parliament on Wednesday, December 13, it has now emerged that one of the persons who jumped into the well of the Parliament, identified as Sagar Sharma, was issued a visitor’s pass by Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mysuru MP Pratap Simha.
“Two people jumped from the public gallery, and there was smoke. There was chaos all around. Both of them were overpowered by security officials. One of the persons had a pass. I guess his name was Sagar from Mysuru. He was the guest of BJP’s Mysuru MP Pratap Simha,” said MP Danish Ali who was recently sacked from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Several channels aired visuals of Sagar’s pass which showed that it was issued at the behest of Simha’s office. The police will probe whether the trespassers had faked their intentions while seeking their passes because their slogans appeared to be targeted at the Narendra Modi government. It is common practice for students, researchers, and also the general public to seek passes from MPs to witness the law-making process. It is yet unclear what ruse the two men used to obtain the passes to the visitor’s gallery.
The two men were detained on December 13 after they jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery and set off yellow smoke from canisters. Visuals show one of the individuals trying to dash towards the Speaker’s chair but being subdued by the MPs. The men were reportedly shouting the slogan “tanashahi nahi chalegi,” meaning “dictatorship will not work.” After the breach at the Parliament, two other protestors, a man and a woman, set off smoke canisters at Vijay Chowk near the Parliament and shouted the same slogans.
MPs cutting across party lines unanimously condemned the breach and raised concerns over the security lapse.
The incident coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 terror attack on the Parliament, which resulted in the deaths of six Delhi police officers, two parliamentary security personnel, and a gardener. During that time, Pakistani terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were accused of the attacks, although LeT denied their involvement. The 2001 attack was executed by five armed assailants, taking place forty minutes after both houses of Parliament had adjourned for the day. A 45-minute gun battle ensued between the police and the attackers until all the attackers were killed.
