New Delhi:
Following the attack on parliament house on December 13, 2001, the then home minister LK Advani made a statement on the floor of the House, underscored Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, pressing Home Minister Amit Shah to make a statement in the House on the breach in parliament security this week.
On December 13 afternoon, two men jumped inside the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors’ gallery with canisters of yellow smoke. They were pinned down by MPs who were in the House during the Zero Hour.
“Since the seriousness of the matter lies in this fact, which relates to our own security, members of the Opposition are duty bound to demand an explanation from the government and expect corrective measures to be taken urgently,” Mr Chowdhury wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The Congress leader conceded that the two incidents (2001 and 2023 breach) are “world apart”. He then said that the recent incident has also “brought to the fore issues relating to the security of the institutions which are the core of our democratic practices and ethos”.
Members across party lines “solidly” stood as one when LK Advani made a detailed statement following the 2001 attack, underlined the Congress leader, adding that Sonia Gandhi, the then Congress president, called on then Prime Minister AB Vajpayee and his deputy, LK Advani, to enquire about their well-being.
“In the present instance too, it is but appropriate for the Home Minister to make a Statement in the House on the incident,” said Mr Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha.
Earlier, Om Birla, in a letter to all MPs, said that he has constituted a “high-powered committee” to review all aspects of security in the Parliament complex and formulate a concrete action plan to ensure that such incidents do not recur.
With opposition parties seeking a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah and some even demanding his resignation, Mr Birla has said that security in the Parliament House Estate comes under the jurisdiction of parliament.
Mr Chowdhury also stressed that “protocols” and “procedures” for issuing and regulating entry of visitors to witness the proceedings of the House must be looked into as well to avoid a repeat of such incidents.
A total of 13 MPs were suspended from parliament on Thursday “for creating a ruckus” in the House over their demand for a statement on the breach.
Among the 13 MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha, nine are from the Congress, two from the CPM, one from the CPI, and one from the DMK.
“Considering the fact that the Members who have been suspended on account of “unruly conduct” were pressing for an explanation from the government on very troubling issues, to me, it appears to be appropriate to hear them on their concerns and points of view,” said Mr Chowdhury.
On Saturday, Om Birla asserted that there is no connection between the security breach and the suspension of 13 MPs from the Lower House.
“This is unwarranted. There is no association between the suspension of honourable members and the incident which took place on December 13, 2023. The suspension of honourable members is purely to uphold the sanctity of the house,” read Mr Birla’s letter.
