Days after the major security breach in the Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla wrote a letter to all the members of Parliament, saying that it is a matter of grave concern. He also informed members of the House that he has constituted a high-level inquiry committee for an in-depth investigation of the incident.
“The unfortunate incident that took place inside the House on 13 December 2023, is a matter of grave concern for all of us. We expressed our collective concern over this incident in the House. On the same day, I discussed with the leaders of all parties as to how we can further strengthen the security arrangements in Parliament. Some of the important suggestions made during the meeting have been implemented immediately,” he said.
The Lok Sabha Speaker further said that the high-powered committee has also been constituted to review security aspects in the Parliament Complex and formulate a concrete action plan to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
In his letter addressed to all the MPs, Om Birla wrote, “A high-level inquiry Committee has been constituted for an in-depth investigation of the incident that took place inside the House. The Committee has started working. The report of this Committee will soon be shared with the House. In addition, I have also constituted a high-powered committee that will review various aspects of security in the Parliament Complex and formulate a concrete action plan to ensure that such incidents do not recur.”
In his letter, the Lok Sabha Speaker also clarified that the suspension of 14 MPs had nothing to do with the December 13 incident. He said that the decision was to “uphold the sanctity of the House”.
“It is indeed unfortunate that some members and political parties are linking the decision of the House to suspend some members from the service of the House to the incident which occurred on December 13. This is unwarranted. There is no association between the suspension of Members and the incident which took place on 13 December 2023. The suspension of Members is purely to uphold the sanctity of the House,” he said.
“At the time of the inauguration of the new building of our Parliament, we had resolved that we will refrain from bringing placards inside the House; we will not create ruckus in the well of the House,” Birla said.
“We are well aware that the people of our country do not appreciate the inappropriate conduct and interruptions during the proceedings of the House. That is the reason we were unanimous that we would establish highest standards of parliamentary decorum and dignity. It was in this context that the House was compelled to take strict action of suspending Hon’ble Members. Although this has caused me deep anguish, however, I also expect that in the future, all Members will give primacy to the dignity and decorum of the House,” said the Lok Sabha Speaker.
As many as 14 opposition MPs have been suspended from Parliament for the remainder of the Winter session for disrupting proceedings as the Lok Sabha security breach incident snowballed into a major row today with the government asking the opposition not to “politicise” the “grave national issue” and the Congress, TMC and others demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah.
While TMC’s Derek O’Brien was suspended in the Rajya Sabha, as many as 13 opposition MPs, including nine from the Congress and DMK’s Kanimozhi, were suspended from the Lok Sabha for disrupting the proceedings.
