In a major security breach in the Parliament, which was marking the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 terror attack, two people opened cannisters that emitted a yellow-coloured smoke, triggering panic in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (December 13, 2023).
According to reports, they were present in the visitors’ gallery of the House.
The incident happened when Zero Hour of the House was in progress.
They reportedly pulled out the canisters from their shoes.
They moved from desk to desk and it seemed they were trying to head towards the Well of the House.
Members present inside the House told reporters as quoted by The Indian Express later that they (the protesters) were chanting slogans such as ‘tana shahi nahi chalegi‘ (dictatorship won’t be accepted).
Both of them have been detained and an enquiry has been initiated into the incident.
In another incident, two other people, identified as 42-year-old Neelam and 25-year-old Amol Shinde, were detained by local police outside New Delhi’s Transport Bhavan, where they were protesting with yellow smoke.
The Transport Bhavan is located close to the Parliament complex.
BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal told The Indian Express: “One of them took something out of his shoes that was emitting smoke.”
“The security personnel caught them, and it remains to seen who they are, what was their objective and what organisation are they associated with,” he added.
The proceedings in the lower house were adjourned soon after the incident till 2 PM.
It may be mentioned that the incident happened on the 22nd anniversary of the terror attack in Parliament in 2001.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, the Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, told UNI, “This is certainly a security breach because today we observed the death anniversary of people who sacrificed their lives in 2001.”
“This is a serious breach of security, especially on December 13, the day when Parliament was attacked in 2001,” Congress MP Karti Chidambaram told the news agency.
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dimple Yadav also raised concerns and told UNI, “All those who come here, be it visitors or reporters, don’t carry tags. So, I think the government should pay attention to this. I think this is a complete security lapse. Anything could have happened inside the Lok Sabha.”
After the incident, the proceedings of the Lok Sabha began when speaking over the security breach in the Lower House, Speaker Om Birla said that an initial investigation on the incident which took place during zero hour, is being done and necessary instructions have also been given to Delhi Police.
He added that in the preliminary investigation, it was found that it was just a cloud of smoke and there was no need to worry about it.
Birla said, “It is our collective responsibility to ensure the functioning of the house despite all adversities”.