“Saddened to see politics being done..”: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla requests for Opposition cooperation amidst ruckus over the Parliament scare

Amidst the Opposition’s fervent sloganeering, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced on Monday that a high-level committee is currently investigating the Parliament security breach of December. The Speaker expressed his displeasure over the “politicization” of the security scare as the Opposition parties continue to call for a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the security lapse.

“Sadden to see politics being done on this issue...To enter the Well of the House and sloganeering is against the dignity of the House. I request you’re the Opposition’s cooperation to hold discussions on important issues," said Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla.

The proceedings of both houses have been tumultuous since the Parliament security breach, and the Opposition continues to protest, holding placards as the House resumed on Monday. Om Birla condemned the act of bringing placards to the house, stating that it diminishes the dignity of the parliamentary proceedings. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also made a plea to opposition members, urging them "with folded hands" to refrain from displaying placards. Despite the appeals from both Speaker Birla and Minister Joshi, opposition MPs persisted in their protests, including chanting slogans.

In addition, the Opposition has been rallying around a strict step that they demand must be taken against BJP MP Pratap Simha, who had issued the visitor passes for the two intruders responsible for the Parliament security breach, where the intruders entered the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery, deploying smoke canisters.

Following an Opposition uproar over the Parliament security breach incident, a total of 12 Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP were suspended for the remainder of the winter session.

The massive security breach, coinciding with the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack last Wednesday, involved two individuals – Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D – who breached security by entering the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during the Zero Hour, releasing colored smoke bombs, and shouted slogans. Simultaneously, outside the Parliament complex, two other individuals, including a woman, were detained for deploying smoke canisters. They have been arrested by the Delhi police and an investigation is underway.