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‘It is sad that…’: Anguished Lok Sabha Speaker to Opposition amid ruckus over Parliament breach
Om Birla objected to the placards being brought into the House, saying it lowers the dignity of the House.
Anguished over the “politicisation” of the December 13 Parliament security breach incident, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday said a high-level committee is probing the case. The opposition parties were demanding a statement from Union home minister Amit Shah on the December 13 incident. Some opposition MPs were also carrying placards with their demands written on them.
Om Birla objected to the placards being brought into the House, saying it lowers the dignity of the House.
"It is sad that politics is being done on this issue...To enter the Well of the House and sloganeering is against the dignity of the House. I request your (opposition) cooperation to hold discussions on important issues," Birla said.
During Question Hour, the Speaker told the members that the security of Parliament is under the purview of the Lok Sabha secretariat and that the suspension of some Opposition members was not related to the December 13 incident but to the members bringing placards to the House.
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He said a high-level committee has already begun its investigation and some of the suggestions given to him at the all-party meeting to enhance the security of the parliament have been implemented.
Birla said he would continue to consult the members on the issue and urged them to take their seats.
Parliamentary affairs Pralhad Joshi also appealed to the opposition members "with folded hands" to not to wave the placards, saying it was agreed at the meeting of the business advisory committee not to carry placards.
The opposition MPs ignored the appeal of Birla as well as Joshi and continued their protests along with sloganeering, leading to the Speaker announcing adjustment of the House till 12 noon.
The Opposition was also demanding action against BJP MP Pratap Simha, who had authorised the visitor passes for the two men who last week jumped inside the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery with smoke canisters.
Earlier, Birla said the whole House has expressed concern over the “unfortunate” incident that had taken place on December 13.
As many as 12 Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP were suspended for the remainder of the session for disrupting the proceedings of the House while protesting against the Parliament security breach incident.
In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack last Wednesday, two men – Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D – jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during the Zero Hour, released coloured smoke and shouted slogans, before being overpowered by the MPs. Two others, including a woman, were detained outside the Parliament complex for staging a protest.
(With inputs from agencies)
