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Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first comments on the Lok Sabha security breach, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh Sunday accused the prime minister of running away from a debate on the incident and hinted that the Opposition's impasse with the government over the security breach will continue until home minister Amit Shah makes a statement in the Parliament.
In his first reaction, PM Modi in an interview with Hindi daily ‘Dainik Jagran’ said there was a need for a probe into the incident, not a debate.
The Opposition has been demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah in the Parliament on the breach. On Thursday, 14 MPs were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session of Parliament for "unruly" behaviour.
Posting on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) the Congress general secretary said, "The Prime Minister has finally broken his silence on the extraordinary events in the Lok Sabha on December 13th. He says a probe is needed and not debate and that such a probe is on. All that INDIA parties are asking for and will continue to press for is a statement by the Home Minister on what happened on December 13th and how exactly it happened."
"The PM is running away from a debate for a very simple reason. Questions will be raised on the role of the Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha in facilitating the entry of the intruders into the Lok Sabha on December 13th," he added.
On December 13, two individuals leapt from the visitors' gallery into the Lok Sabha chamber and caused commotion with their smoke cannisters. They were later overpowered by the members of the parliament. Certain members have demanded the resignation of Amit Shah in connection with the incident.
The government has asserted that the Lok Sabha secretariat is accountable for the security within the Parliament complex, and it has been adhering to the directives issued by the Speaker.
PM Modi told the Hindi daily that the probe agencies are investigating the incident and taking stringent measures, noting that it is equally necessary to go to the root of the people behind it and their motives.
"Efforts should also be made to look for a solution with collective spirit. Everyone should avoid squabbling over such an issue," he said.
"What happened is very serious," Modi said in his first comments on Wednesday's breach.
"There is no need to debate this, there should be a detailed investigation into this," he added.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today expressed concerns over the security breach at the new Parliament building and said it was quite a serious matter.
"The Parliament security breach is a serious matter. There was a great lapse... The Union Home Minister has already admitted that. Let them investigate it," Banerjee told reporters at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here before leaving for Delhi.
Reacting to the incident, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said the prime minister should speak in the Parliament.
"PM Modi should also speak in the Parliament on security breach, like he is speaking to a newspaper and Union Home minister is speaking to a TV channel," she told ANI.
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