Parliament security breach: Risk exposure
Summary
- The intrusion into the Lok Sabha warrants a full investigation and thorough security review of the country’s apex legislative body that only recently adopted new premises.
Amid the Winter Session of Parliament, two people were detained for their intrusion into the Lok Sabha chamber on Wednesday. A live broadcast of it had a man jumping from one table to another and running towards the Speaker’s chair. Another man leapt down from the visitor’s gallery, just as his co-intruder probably did, and sprayed what looked like yellow smoke in the hall. The Delhi Police also nabbed a duo outside for protesting with a colourful gas.
While a preliminary probe revealed it to be harmless, reports of a visitor pass issued by the office of a Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker for one of the detainees warrants a full investigation and thorough security review of the country’s apex legislative body that only recently adopted new premises. That the breach occurred on the 22nd anniversary of the infamous 2001 attack, when terrorists sponsored by Pakistan-based groups attacked the Parliament complex and took nine lives, places a cloud of intrigue over what happened.
If it was a protest in the guise of a prank, it was deeply misguided. For citizens, it is unnerving to find that our lawmakers could so easily be exposed to airborne threats. A tightening up is in order.
