Parliament in Chaos: Security breach triggers uproar, Opposition demands action, Derek O’Brian suspended for “unruly behavior”

Both houses of the Parliament were adjourned soon after the session started on Thursday, following an uproar from the Opposition over the security breach incident. Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien was asked to leave the house by the Chairman for “serious misconduct”, he was later suspended for the remainder of this session for “unruly behavior.” Jagdeep Dhankar, Speaker of the upper house had called for a meeting of the LoP and the other floor leaders from 11:30 am.

The 22nd anniversary of the Parliament terror attacks of 2001 on Wednesday was marked by a major incident of security breach that rattled the Lok Sabha. Two men were intruded into an ongoing session in the Lower House, one of them jumped into the chamber and the other was seen hurling colored smoke bombs. A faint yellow mist enveloped the Lok Sabha as panic and chaos ensued. Following the Parliament scare, many of the Opposition MPs have questioned the involvement of BJP MP Pratap Simha, who has allegedly signed on the visitor pass found in procession of one of the two intruders who have now been apprehended.

"It was an unfortunate incident. There are no two opinions about it. The Speaker ordered an inquiry into the incident immediately. All MPs -- both govt and the opposition -- should be alert to not issue passes to someone who can create such an anarchic situation in the House," said Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. This is the first time since the security breach that the government has broken its silence. The Defense Minister also asked the MPs to cautiously issue visiting passes. "Also, I want to bring this to your (Speaker) notice that in our old building too, there were incidents of sloganeering, and jumping like this. So in my opinion, we all should come together to condemn the incident,” he added.

The Defense Minister’s take on the security breach incident did not sit well with the opposition leaders who resorted to vehement sloganeering to register their protest. “Shame, shame,” chanted the Opposition leaders of the Lok Sabha demanding a statement from either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Soon after, the House was adjourned by Speaker Om Birla till 2 pm.

A similar chaotic incident unfolded in the Rajya Sabha as it was met with a rocky start. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien was asked to leave the House by the Chairman as tensions soared on the floor of the house over the security breach incident.

The TMC MP had demanded a discussion over the security scare that rattled the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. "Derek O'Brien is named to leave the House immediately... Derek O'Brien says he will defy the Chair... Derek O'Brien says he will not respect the rules. This is a serious misconduct. This is a shameful incident," said the Rajya Sabha Speaker, Jagdeep Dhankar. The House resumed and Derek O’Brien was suspended for the remainder of this session, after which the House was again adjourned till 2.

Despite the Speaker’s warning, the protests continued in the Rajya Sabha as the Opposition MPs demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah be present in the Upper House to address yesterday’s incident. The Rajya Sabha too was adjourned and the Speaker called the Lop and other floor leaders for a meeting.

Taking to social media platform ‘X’, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has outlined the two demands of the Opposition INDIA alliance. “The INDIA parties are demanding: 1. A detailed statement by the Home Minister in both Houses, followed by a discussion on the very serious and shocking security breach witnessed in the Lok Sabha yesterday. 2. Strict action against the BJP MP Pratap Simha who provided the visitor passes to the intruders. The Modi government’s refusal to accept these perfectly legitimate and reasonable demands has led to the adjournment of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha today morning,” posted the Rajya Sabha MP, elucidating the reasons for the Opposition uproar in the Parliament today.​