New Delhi: Both Houses of parliament were adjourned today as opposition parties refused to let the government get away with the security breach in the Lok Sabha, with disruptions for two days in a row.
Parliament was adjourned first for the afternoon and then the whole day. It will meet now on Monday. Both opposition and Treasury Benches refused to budge on their stands on a discussion on the security breach.
While the prime minister and Union home minister have been absent from the House since the breach, they will attend the parliamentary party meeting next Tuesday. Congress has meanwhile reiterated its stand on a statement by the minister concerned, Amit Shah, on the breach and role of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pratap Simha in this.
In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said he had received several notices from members of the opposition for a discussion on the matter and that he found no merit in the requests. As yesterday, the uproar that followed led to the Rajya Sabha being adjourned. The scenes were no different in the Lok Sabha.
Outside parliament, the steps of Makar Dwar became the new rallying point as suspended MPs gathered there with placards and posters accusing the government of being high handed and stubborn. Lending weight to the protestors was Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi who stood in solidarity with the suspended MPs.
DMK MP Kanimozhi, protesting with other MPs in front of the iconic Gandhi statue outside the House, said, “BJP has been repeatedly saying that they are the only ones who can protect this country. They can’t even protect the parliament. The prime minister could have been in there. They would not have been able to protect their prime minister. And then they are saying we are politicising the issue. The country and the government are to be held responsible for any breach of security. We only expect the PM and HM to come to parliament and tell us what happened. But they can’t even come and do that.”
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor blamed the Union home minister for the crisis and accused the government of not doing enough to diffuse it.
“The home minister is responsible for the Delhi Police and nation’s security. He is speaking to media channels outside, he is giving statements to the mass media. In a parliamentary system, his principle accountability, when parliament is in session, is to the very House of Parliament of which he is a member. He should come here are speak to the MPs,” he said.
Pralhad Joshi, parliamentary affairs minister, speaking to reporters in parliament tried to underplay the situation. “The Speaker has already discussed [the security breach] with members in an all party meeting. He has already said the responsibility of the two Houses of Parliament lies with him and he has given directions that we are bound to follow. The matter is in court and there is a high-level inquiry going in. In the middle of all this, statements from the opposition that they won’t allow the house to run does not behove them. They should behave responsibly,” he said.
Opposition leaders meet on December 14. Photo: X/@kharge
Before parliament commenced, there was a meeting of floor leaders of the INDIA alliance at the residence of Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to chalk out a strategy, with members from the entire opposition putting up a united front. The alliance will meet again on Tuesday on its next course of action.