“Pratap Simha should be expelled for breaching the security of the Parliament,”: Opposition demands accountability after Parliament attack

The 22nd anniversary of the Parliament terror attacks of 2001 on Wednesday was marked by a major incident of security breach that rattled the Lok Sabha. Two men were intruded into an ongoing session in the Lower House, one of them jumped into the chamber and the other was seen hurling colored smoke bombs. A faint yellow mist enveloped the Lok Sabha as panic and chaos ensued. While the police have launched a comprehensive investigation probing into the various facets of this incident, many of the Opposition MPs have questioned the involvement of BJP MP Pratap Simha, who allegedly signed on the visitor pass found in procession of one of the intruders.

 A Parliamentary visitor pass containing the signature of BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu, Pratap Simha was recovered from Sagar Sharma. The Opposition has demanded accountability and questioned the BJP MP’s role in this incident of security breach in the Parliament, the citadel of democracy. Some have even linked this incident that posed a threat to the national security, with TMC MP Mahua Moitra’s alleged “cash-for-query” case and asserted that if the TMC MP was expelled from the Parliament for the threat she posed to the national security of the country by sharing her login credentials, so should Pratap Simha’s membership be canceled.

“If supposedly for breaking the norms of the Parliament, Mahua Moitra can be expelled, we demand that this particular BJP MP also be expelled for breaching the security of the Parliament,” argued TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar who was present inside the lower house when it was attacked. The TMC MP has stated that the Parliament follows a protocol for issuing visitor passes, and Pratap Simha, the BJP MP should take full responsibility for the code of conduct of his visitor inside the Parliament. “You have to know the person personally and take full responsibility for his behavior in the Parliament. So, we can say that he was in connivance with whoever went inside,” said Dastidar stating that if the MP has circumvented security protocols, then he should be expelled.

In an interview with News The Truth, Kakol Ghosh Dastidar broke down the steps that an MP must follow while issuing a pass to a visitor. Firstly, the member of the Parliament has to fill out a form with all the personal details of the visitor. Then the form is sent to the Protocol Office of the Parliament, where the details are vetted, after which a pass is issued. The pass is then signed by the General Pass Issuing Office and the MP is liable to take full responsibility for the code of conduct of the visitor in the House. Given the circumstances and the heavily nuanced rubric that has been put into force to ensure the safety and security of the House, the TMC leader said, “Pratap Simha should take full responsibility and he should be expelled.”

Many other leaders of the Opposition have mirrored Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s apprehension in their statements, and have brought the BJP MP’s conduct to the spot. “The fact that these people were apparently sponsored by a sitting MP of the ruling party...These people smuggled in smoke pistols which show there is a serious security lapse. Not only they fired the pistols but also shouted some slogans inaudible to some of us,” said Sashi Tharoor. The Congress MP further stated that the new Parliament building is not configured very well when it comes to security by comparison with the arrangements in the old building. "I do believe that the matter is serious enough that the Home Minister may want to explain to the nation about the security lapses and security arrangements," he added.

“Reports are emerging that the youths who attacked the Parliament building today were given passes by Pratap Simha, an MP from Mysuru. If these reports are true, then it implies that these youths might have been known to the MP. If they were not acquaintances, then how were passes issued to strangers?” questioned Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who stated that inadvertent acts of negligence are also punishable under the law. “When the security of the nation's Parliament is not ensured, questions about the security of the nation's borders naturally arise. Prime Minister Narendra Modi bears the responsibility of answering all these questions,” asserted the Karnataka CM.

The massive security breach on the anniversary of the attack on the Parliament 22 years ago, has been condemned by the Opposition and they have questioned the security measures that are in place to avoid untoward breaches such as this. "Today itself, we paid floral tribute to our brave hearts who sacrificed their lives during the Parliament attack and today itself there was an attack here inside the House. Does it prove that we failed to maintain a high level of security?" said Congress leader, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

The predicament of the Lok Sabha echoed in the Rajya Sabha. Senior Opposition leaders such as Mallickarjun Kharge stated that the break-in is not just about the Houses of the Parliament, but about the laxity of the security measures employed. “The issue is severe. This is not a question of just Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, this is about how two people were able to come inside despite such elaborate security and cause a security breach,” said Kharge.

Pratap Simha is yet to issue a statement, clearing his stance on the security breach incident.

On Wednesday, an intruder donning a dark rushed inside the chamber when West Bengal BJP MP Khagen Murmu was speaking inside the House, another intruder was seen hurling colored smoke bombs from the visitors’ balcony. The two men have been identified as Sagar Sharma and D Manoranjan. Visitors’ passes signed by BJP MP Pratap Simha have been found in their procession. As per police reports, at least one of the two men who entered the chamber is linked to Simha’s constituency.

An incident of similar fervor was reported outside the Parliament at the same time. Two individuals, Amol Shinde, and Neelam Devi were reportedly chanting slogans such as “Bharat Mata ki jai”, “Jai Bhim”, and “Tanasahi bandh karo” and burst red and yellow colored smoke bombs. The police have detained all four of the accused in the Parliament Street police station. A special team for investigation has been formed, and the FSL team was rushed to the Parliament premises to collect evidence samples. In the meantime, the Intelligence Bureau has also questioned the four who were involved in this security breach incident.