Proceedings in the Parliament were marred after two intruders entered the chambers of the Lok Sabha as the House was in session and threw objects which emitted fluorescent gas. Post the incident, the Lok Sabha did not undertake substantial business and soon adjourned for the day. The culprits have been apprehended and an investigated is reportedly underway.
The Rajya Sabha, meanwhile, cleared The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023. Both were passed by voice vote in the absence of Opposition members, who walked out over concerns regarding the Lok Sabha intruders.
Lok Sabha
A security scare in the Zero Hour involving two individuals storming into the chambers of the Lower house dominated proceedings on Wednesday. It took place on the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the Parliament. When Zero Hour was in progress, two individuals, believed to be in their 20s, stormed into the chamber from the audience galleries and threw an object that released yellow fluorescent gas. It has been learnt that they received their passes from Pratap Simha, Bhartiya Janata Party MP from Mysuru (Karnataka).
The House was adjourned after the incident, with Speaker Om Birla returning to share the initial findings. He informed that the gas released was not harmful and was only meant to cause commotion. Further, the two individuals had been detained and their objects confiscated. Mr Birla assured the house that he would communicate further details as and when they emerge after the initial investigation. The incident is being investigated by the Delhi Police and Lok Sabha secretariat.
Amid concerns raised about the alleged association of the intruders with a treasury MP and prior verification before according access to Parliament premises to visitors, Mr Birla informed the House that he called for a meeting with all party chiefs.
Rajendra Agarwal, MP from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, who was officiating as the chair recalled, “I initially thought that one of them has tipped over and fell by mistake, but one of them was hanging from the railing and fell. They fell into the middle passage and not on any MP.” He stated that the intruders had raised certain slogans, but they could not be heard clearly.
Until the incident, proceedings in the House on Wednesday was business as usual. The day had commenced with members paying tributes to martyrs of the terrorist attack on Parliament in 2001. Question Hour had members asking the government about steps taken to impart net neutrality. Furthermore, notwithstanding opposition by individual members, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman successfully introduced the Central Goods and Services Act (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023.
After the incident, the House gathered to discuss the Post Office Bill, 2023, for consideration and passing. However the House was adjourned till 4 pm.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day immediately after it resumed proceedings at 4 PM. Speaker Om Birla invited all party chiefs for a meeting to discuss the security breach which occurred earlier in the day.
Rajya Sabha
The impact of the intrusion incident in Lok Sabha was felt in Rajya Sabha too, with Opposition members urging Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to adjourn the day’s proceedings to address the issue. Mr. Dhankhar said an investigation is under way and that he will apprise the House on the matter before the day ends.
The Leader of the House Piyush Goyal responded to Opposition’s demands for a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah and said that the Opposition should come together to convey a message of unity and strength. “Politicisation of this issue by Congress is not a good message for the country. I request the Leader of Opposition Mr. Kharge to allow the House to function normally while the investigation progresses,” he added.
The Upper House also took up the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2023 for discussion and passing. Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan moved the Bill that will establish the Central Tribal University in Telangana. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 7, 2023.
The Bill was passed by voice vote in the absence of Opposition members, who walked out over their concerns about the Lok Sabha security breach. The House then also cleared the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023, which removes 76 obsolete or irrelevant laws from the statute books. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed the House that with the passing of this Bill, the total number of laws repealed after PM Modi came to power would total 1562.
Earlier in the day, Chairman Dhankhar took cognisance of suicides in students due to the stress of competitive exams. During Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, five supplementaries were asked by members on suicides among students due to competitive exams. Mr. Pradhan responded to the questions orally. He informed the House that according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 1.70 lakh suicides reported in 2022. Of these, suicides due to failure in examinations were 2,051 or 1.2%.
