“His Agony Reached Me”: Smriti Irani On Speaker's Letter To MPs Over Breach

New Delhi:

Soon after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla wrote a letter to all Members of Parliament, emphasizing that there is no correlation between the security breach and the recent suspension of 13 MPs from the Lower House, Union Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized the importance of prioritizing Parliament’s security and proper conduct during proceedings, regardless of political affiliations.

Echoing a similar thought, Union Minister Smriti Irani highlighted the responsibility of MPs to uphold Parliament’s dignity and expressed concern about indiscipline being given political colours.

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.

Three days following the security breach in the Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om 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.

“We are well aware that the people of our country do not appreciate the inappropriate conduct and interruptions during the proceedings of the House. That is the reason we are unanimous that we would establish highest standards of parliamentary decorum and dignity,” Om Birla said, adding that he was “compelled to take strict action of suspending members”.

“At the time of the inauguration of the new building of our Parliament, we had resolved that we will refrain from bringing placards inside the House; we will not create ruckus in the well of the House,” Birla said.

The Lok Sabha Speaker also stated that a high-level committee has been constituted to inquire into the security lapse incident.

“A high-level committee has been constituted for an in-depth investigation of the incident that took place inside the House. The committee has started working. The report of this committee will soon be shared with the House”, read the letter.”In addition, I have also constituted a high-powered committee which will review various aspects of security in the parliament complex and formulate a concrete action plan to ensure such incidents do not occur”, it added.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, “No matter which party we belong to, we all should contemplate the security of the parliament and ensure that the proceedings are carried out properly. Such incidents have happened in the past too, while the opposition was in power. But those issues were not politicized, rather proper enquiries were made into these”.

“There is no link between the suspension of the MPs and the security breach incident. They were suspended for creating a ruckus inside the House. There is a certain way to revolt against an issue. But holding placards and not letting the House function is unfair. I condemn such behaviour”, Goyal added.

Smriti Irani said that the MPs were suspended as they “shredded” the dignity of the House.

“Through the letter, the Speaker’s agony and concern reached me…Even after the incident, the Speaker invited all political parties for their suggestions regarding security and proceedings of the House…As MPs, it is our responsibility to see that we do not hurt the dignity of Parliament. Speaker does not belong to one side but the entire country and serves the House as the custodian of the Constitution’s dignity. His letter also reflected the pain that some MPs were suspended as they shredded the dignity of the House but the act against indiscipline is being given political colours”, Smriti Irani said.

On December 13, two men jumped inside the Lok Sabha from the visitor’s gallery above the chamber and threw smoke cannisters inside the Parliament, triggering panic on the day India marked the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack.

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 protestors — Neelam (42) and Amol (25) — protested outside the Parliament with similar gas canisters. However, all four were sent to seven-day custody of Delhi Police Special Cell on Thursday.

The fifth accused Lalit Jha, who allegedly planned the incident, has also been arrested and Mahesh Kumawat is the sixth accused arrested in the case.

Meanwhile, 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.

The Public Prosecutor Advocate Akhand Pratap Singh, who appeared for the Special Cell of Delhi Police, further informed the court that Mahesh has been associated with the other accused for the last two years.

Police further claimed that he (Mahesh) alongwith others wanted to create anarchy in the country so that they could compel the government to meet their unjust and illegal demands.

Meanwhile, the opposition MPs of the INDIA bloc have been demanding a word from Home Minister Amit Shah over the security lapse incident.

Earlier today, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge reiterated the demand for a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah in the House.

Hitting out at the BJP-led central government over the massive security breach, the Congress President said that the BJP leaders are not ready to let the House function.

“It is a serious issue and the government should pay attention to it. We are repeatedly saying in Parliament that the Union Home Minister should come to the House and give a statement but he does not want to come. They (BJP) are not ready to let the House function. This is not a good thing for democracy but there is no point in talking to people who do not believe in democracy,” Kharge told ANI.

When asked about the allegations against the opposition for playing politics over the incident, Kharge said that the BJP’s job is to abuse the Congress and get votes.

“They (BJP) seek votes by taking the name of Congress. They abuse Nehru ji and Gandhi ji to get votes. Their job is to abuse us and get votes,” the Congress leader said.

Meanwhile, firing a fresh salvo at the BJP-led central government over the massive security breach in Parliament, senior Congress leader KC Venugopal on Saturday said it wasn’t the opposition members but Delhi Police that politicised the incident after labelling it as a terror attack.

“Delhi Police called it (parliament security breach) a terror attack. It comes under the Union Home Minister, doesn’t it? We (Opposition members) didn’t politicise the incident, we didn’t call it a terror attack. We only put forward our concerns over the glaring lapse in security from the government side,” Venugopal said at the media briefing on Saturday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)