'Parliament Security Breach A Serious Incident': PM Modi Calls For Deeper Probe

One more accused has been arrested in the Parliament security breach case and produced before Delhi's Patiala House Court on Saturday. The arrested accused has been identified as Mahesh Kumavat, a friend of mastermind Lalit Jha. Six accused have been arrested in the case so far.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reacted to the alarming security breach at the Parliament recently, calling it a "serious" matter. The Prime Minister also reportedly urged political parties to refrain from politicising the issue as it is a matter of national security. PM Modi made these remarks in an interview with a leading newspaper during which he also called for a thorough probe into the incident. The Prime Minister said that ''we should go into the depth of this accident and find a solution so that it cannot happen again.'' "After this incident, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has ordered an investigation and we all are confident that the conspiracy will be exposed," the PM reportedly said. It is important to know what were the intentions of the accused behind this incident and which elements were active behind it, he added.

संसद में घटी घटना को पीएम मोदी ने बताया बेहद चिंता का विषय.

एक अख़बार को दिए इंटरव्यू में पीएम मोदी ने कहा, 'संसद में जो घटना हुई उसकी गंभीरता को जरा भी कम नहीं आंकना चाहिए। इसलिए स्पीकर महोदय पूरी गंभीरता के साथ आवश्यक कदम उठा रहे हैं। जांच एजेंसियां सख्ती से जांच कर रही… pic.twitter.com/lZbuKlzeun — Zee News (@ZeeNews) December 17, 2023

Earlier, PM Modi had directed senior ministers to treat the security breach in Lok Sabha with utmost seriousness. In a meeting held on Thursday, he cautioned against engaging in political manoeuvring and urged collective precautionary measures. It may be noted that the government has already constituted a panel to probe possible lapses that allowed two men to infiltrate the Lok Sabha and disrupt proceedings.

Parliament Security Breach

The breach occurred on Wednesday when two intruders infiltrated the Lok Sabha, throwing colour-smoke bombs from the visitors' gallery into the MPs' sitting area. Following the incident, the Opposition launched a massive protest, demanding the suspension of BJP MP Pratap Simha, accused of issuing passes to the intruders.

Opposition Demands Suspension Of Lok Sabha Proceedings 

On Thursday, the Opposition called for the suspension of Lok Sabha proceedings and a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Questions were raised, but the government has not yet addressed the issue in the House. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has initiated a high-level probe led by CRPF DG.

Lok Sabha Speaker Writes To MPs

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla wrote a letter to all Members of Parliament, asserting that there is no connection between the security breach and the recent suspension of 13 MPs from the Lower House. 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.

Speaker Birla, in his letter, said that it is "unfortunate" that some members and political parties are linking the decision of the House to suspend some members to the Parliament security lapse incident.
"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", the letter read.

Latest Arrest in Security Breach Case

In a significant development, another individual, Mahesh Kumavat, associated with the mastermind Lalit Jha, has been arrested and presented before Delhi's Patiala House Court on Saturday. With a total of six arrests, investigations are delving into the connections between the accused.

Despite continuous questioning, the police have yet to ascertain the motive behind the security breach. Mastermind Lalit Jha, along with Neelam, Amol, Sagar Sharma, and Manoranjan D, remains in police custody. The authorities are meticulously reviewing contradictions in statements and trying to extract call details to establish their movements leading up to the incident.

In light of the breach, the Special Cell of Delhi Police earlier said that it plans to recreate the scene, pending approval from the Speaker of Parliament. The Delhi Police on Saturday informed the Patiala House Court that the Parliament Security breach conspiracy had been going on since more than last year, and freshly arrested accused Mahesh attended all the meetings held in different cities in this regard.

Additionally, there are reports of recording MP Pratap Simha's statement regarding the passes issued to the infiltrators.

The security breach happened on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack. Two people -Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D - jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and shouted anti-establishment slogans before being overpowered by the MPs.

Outside it, in another incident, two other protestors - Neelam (42) and Amol (25) - protested outside the Parliament with similar gas canisters. However, all four were arrested and sent to seven-day custody of Delhi Police Special Cell on Thursday. Lalit Jha, who allegedly planned the incident, and Mahesh Kumawat were arrested later.