In his first remarks on the Parliament security breach issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the incident cannot be underestimated, and called for “no squabbling” over the issue amid Opposition’s protests over it in Parliament.
In an interview to Hindi daily ‘Dainik Jagran’, PM Modi said probe agencies are investigating the incident and taking stringent measures.
“It is important to find out which elements are behind this and what their objectives are. There is no need to debate this, there should be a detailed investigation into this,” the PM told Dainik Jagran newspaper in an interview.
The newspaper said he described the breach as “painful and a matter of concern”.
“Efforts should also be made to look for a solution with collective spirit. Everyone should avoid squabbling over such an issue,” he said.
On December 13, shocking and dramatic scenes played out in the Parliament, when two persons jumped from visitors’ gallery into the Lok Sabha chamber, and deployed coloured smoke from canisters. Two other co-accused protested outside the Parliament’s premises.
Delhi Police has so far arrested six people, and invoked the stringent anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Opposition has criticised the government over the huge security breach and demanded a statement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. While Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has been demanding a statement from Shah, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said that the security breach was a serious issue, adding that umployment was the biggest reason behind the incident.
The government has insisted that the security in Parliament complex is the responsibility of the Lok Sabha secretariat and it has been following the Speaker’s directives. It has also cited numerous such violations in the past, accusing the opposition of politicising the issue.
(With PTI inputs)