Cong demands joint committee of Parliament to probe LS security breach

New Delhi, Dec 14 : Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari on Thursday demanded a joint committee of Parliament consisting of members with experience in policing, security and Law to investigate the December 13 security breach, and also cited the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill security breach which was independently probed by a Select Committee of the US Congress.

In a post on X, Tewari said, "A Joint Committee of Parliament consisting of Members who have prior experience in policing, security and Law must be set up to Concurrently investigate the occurrences of December 13, 2023.

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Tewari, a Lok Sabha MP from Punjabs Anandpur Sahib and a former Union minister said, "While a simultaneous Police Investigation can play itself out and a parallel security audit by concerned agencies can unfold this Supreme Temple of Indian Democracy can not allow an incident like what happened on December 13, 2023 to repeat itself.

Reminding of the December 13, 2001 Parliament attack by terrorists, he said, "While December 13, 2001 and December 13, 2023 are not comparable but what could have happened in both cases has portentous consequences.

That a security breech occurred again and the perpetrators could make it to the floor of the Lok Sabha should make all members pause and reflect on what could have happened……"

"Just as a Select Committee of the US Congress indepently investigated the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill security breech similarly the Parliament of India must enquire into the entire incident independently and make appropriate recommendations to ensure that security and safety of Members and the Staff of Parliament is maintained at the highest level possible," he said.

"Both houses must rise above partisan divides and not allow the implications of what could have happened yesterday be lost in a he said - she said finger pointing," Tewari added.

His remarks came a day after two people jumped from visitors gallery in the Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour proceedings.

The two also sprayed yellow colour smoke in the House before they were overpowered and caught by the MPs and handed over to security officials.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday also ordered an inquiry of the Parliament security breach under Director General CRPF Anish Dayal Singh with members from other security agencies and experts.

In a series of posts, the MHA said, "On request from Lok Sabha Secretariat, MHA has ordered an Enquiry of parliament security breach incident.

An Enquiry Committee has been set up under Anish Dayal Singh, DG, CRPF, with members from other security agencies and experts."

The MHA said that the Enquiry Committee will investigate the reasons for breach in security of Parliament, identify lapses and recommend further action.

The Committee will submit its report with recommendations, including suggestions on improving security in Parliament, at the earliest, the Ministry added.

The Enquiry was ordered after the Lok Sabha Secretariat wrote to MHA seeking a security review of Parliament.

The Delhi Police have registered a case and are investigating the security lapse issue.

aks/dpb