BJP MP who had issued passes to the intruders gives an explanation to the Lok Sabha Speaker after the Parliament security breach

Pratap Simha, the BJP MP who issued visitor passes to the two miscreants who caused a ruckus inside the Lok Sabha during an ongoing session on Wednesday, met the Speaker of the lower house and gave an explanation to him. The Mysore MP told the Speaker that the father of one of the accused, Manoranjan D., requested for a visitor’s pass, as his son wanted to see the new Parliament building.

According to reports, Pratap Simha has stated that Manoranjan D., who belonged to his constituency, was in talks with his assistant for over a month, in an attempt to secure passes for himself and his friend Sagar Sharma. The BJP MP told Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that he has no additional information on the intruders apart from what he had already conveyed. Simha’s office has defended him and stated that many MPs issue passes to people from their constituencies.

Sagar Sinha and Manoranjan D. were issued passes at the behest of BJP MP Pratap Simha on Wednesday under the pretext of watching the proceedings of the House in the new Parliament building. As per reports, three passes were originally issued. However, the third pass was issued for a woman who was not allowed inside the Parliament building as she arrived with a child whose name was not mentioned in the pass.

Ever since the security breach incident rattled the Lok Sabha, several Opposition leaders have questioned BJP MP Pratap Simha’s role in the Parliament scare, and they have demanded accountability from the MP and the Union Government.

On Wednesday, Manoranjan D. and Sagar Sharma stormed into the Lok Sabha during an ongoing session and hurled coloured smoke bombs, disrupting the proceeding of the lower house. While Manoranjan D. was seen with a coloured smoke canister in the visitors’ gallery, Sagar Sharma jumped into the chamber and was seen jumping over the desks, towards the chair of the Speaker when some MPs got hold of him and pinned him down to the floor. In another seemingly similar incident, two other people, identified as Neelam Devi and Amol Shinde were caught releasing yellow and red coloured smoke from smoke canisters outside the Parliament.

The police have apprehended all four, and during questioning the intruders have reportedly said that they wanted to draw the attention of the parliamentarians and the Government to issues such as unemployment and Manipur violence. An investigation has been launched by the police and another man has been nabbed by them. The police have identified a 6th offender in connection to the case who is on the run. The Lok Sabha Secretariat has also suspended eight personnel for the security breach in Parliament on Wednesday.