Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned soon after beginning business for the day as Opposition Members of Parliament protested seeking the Union government’s explanation about the security lapse on Wednesday, on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack.
As Parliament assembled for the day’s session at 11am, Opposition MPs in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha chanted ‘Shame, Shame’. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a statement in Lok Sabha, urging all MPs to condemn Wednesday’s incident and exercise caution while issuing passes.
Singh said, “Everyone has condemned this incident. You (Speaker) have taken cognizance of the matter and ordered an inquiry into the incident immediately. We have to be careful about to whom we issue the passes (to enter Parliament). All precautions possible will be taken in future,” ANI reported.
"Also, I want to bring this to your (Speaker) notice that in our old building too, there were incidents of sloganeering, jumping like this. So in my opinion, we all should come together to condemn the incident," Singh said.
Following protests, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House proceedings till 2pm. The Speaker said the responsibility of the security matters of the Lok Sabha is with the House's secretariat.
Similarly in Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourned House proceedings till 12 noon after Opposition trooped into the Well of the House and protested. Dhankar disallowed as many as 28 notices from Opposition MPs, seeking discussion on Parliament security breach.
Congress MP Sashi Tharoor told ANI, “The problem the MPs have is the feeling that the government is not taking this seriously enough. We must hear from the government at the highest responsible level. We want the Home Minister to come and speak to the Parliament."
