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Under scrutiny from the opposition over allegations of providing Parliament passes to individuals responsible for triggering panic in the Lok Sabha with gas canisters, BJP MP Pratap Simha reportedly met with Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday and briefed him about the accused persons, sources said.
According to sources, Simha, the Lok Sabha MP representing Mysore-Kodagu, informed the Speaker that the father of one of the intruders belonged to his constituency and had sought a visitor's pass to visit the new Parliament building. Sources said that the intruder remained in constant communication with Simha's personal assistant (PA) and office regarding the visitor's pass. Simha conveyed to the Lok Sabha Speaker that he possessed no additional information beyond what he had already stated. Simha also told the Lok Sabha Speaker that he had no further information apart from what he had stated, they added. There was a huge security breach during Zero Hour in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon after two men -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan -- both carrying canisters that emitted yellow smoke, jumped from the visitors' gallery into the Lok Sabha chamber before they were overpowered by the MPs. Similarly, in another incident, two protestors -- Neelam (42) and Amol (25) -- protested outside the Parliament with similar gas canisters. However, all four were detained later. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress leader Shashi Panja demanded the expulsion of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pratap Simha from Lok Sabha for "issuing passes to the Lower House intruders". She also said that the lawmaker of the ruling party compromised 'national security'. "BJP MP Pratap Simha gave two (Parliament) passes through which these two people (intruders) entered. The security of the Parliament and the country was breached. TMC's Mahua Moitra was expelled for sharing her login ID and password, which became a question of national security. Today the BJP MP has done an irresponsible act by giving passes to both of them. So this is the demand of AITC that the MP be expelled from Parliament because national security has been compromised here," the TMC leader said. Delhi Police sources said that initial investigations revealed that all four people and one unidentified fifth person came from outside the national capital and stayed at the residence of a man in Gurugram. "A manhunt has been launched to nab the remaining two," they added. Meanwhile, Delhi Police officials said that Neelam and Amol, who were detained from outside Parliament in front of Transport Bhawan, in preliminary investigations, revealed that they were not carrying mobile phones or any other identity proof. Both have refused to have any connection with any organisation, they said. Earlier in the day, senior officials of the Intelligence Bureau visited the new Parliament building, where the major security breach happened. (ANI)
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