Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday expressed shock and raised concerns over the security breach at the Indian Parliament saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had some tough questions to answer, especially the one on national security.
"The Parliament building, the heart of the nation, has the most stringent security than any other place or building. Yet, how did these youths manage to enter the Parliament with smoke canisters? Were any insiders involved in this act? Could there be the involvement of external forces? When the security of the nation's Parliament is not ensured, questions over the security of the nation's borders naturally arise. Prime Minister Narendra Modi bears the responsibility of answering all these questions," said Siddramaiah in a statement released to the press.
The chief minister said the "attack" coinciding with the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Parliament 22 years ago (13-12-2001) gave rise to suspicion behind the motive. "It is worth noting that even during the 2001 attack, the NDA government, led by the BJP, was in power. This raises several questions about the country's security," added Siddaramaiah.
Stating that the attack on the Parliament building was shocking and disturbing, Siddaramaiah said he condemned the "act of violence" and was relieved to know all the members of the Parliament were safe. "It is clear that this is a lapse in the security system. It is the duty of the Union Government, especially the Home Minister, to carry out a fair investigation and disclose the full details of the incident to the people of the country," said Siddaramaiah, adding that Mysuru MP Pratap Simha could be punished for the "inadvertent acts of negligence" as he had given the intruders passes to the Parliament visitor’s gallery.
"Reports are emerging that the youths who attacked the Parliament building today were given passes by Pratap Simha, an MP from Mysuru. If these reports are true, then it implies that these youths might be known to the MP. If they were not acquaintances, how were passes issued to strangers? It should be noted that even inadvertent acts of negligence are also punishable under the law," said Sidaramaiah.
In the ongoing Legislature session at Belagavi, both the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP in Karnataka sparred over the Parliament incident in the Assembly. When Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar sarcastically said an "intelligent man" like Mysuru MP Pratap Simha must have issued the pass with due diligence, leader of opposition R Ashok alleged Shivakumar was trying to politicise the issue. First-time MLA from Mudigere Nayana Motamma sought to know what would be the BJP’s response if the pass had been issued by a Congress MP. RDPR minister Priyank Kharge added that BJP would have declared the MP as "anti-national".
Ashok reminded the Congress members that they were discussing the security lapse concerning the "Indian Parliament" and not debating over politics. The House was adjourned amid chaos.
When the House resumed, Assembly speaker U.T. Khader said it was time to unanimously condemn the attack on the Parliament. "Let the Centre find the accused and punish them. I urge the legislators not to issue passes to strangers and take care to check the person’s credentials," said Khader.
