The security breach in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday when two persons who managed to get into the public gallery jumped into the House and sprayed from gas canisters even as two of their colleagues opened smoke canisters outside the building is shocking to say the least. Five people have been arrested in the incident and the Lok Sabha secretariat has suspended eight members of its staff.
Even a plain look at the incident would point to a serious intelligence failure and a series of lapses in the security mechanism of the Parliament. The investigators are yet to find links that connect the accused to banned or terrorist organisations.
However, reports suggest that it has been a very well-planned and well-coordinated act which was in the making for almost a year. The accused are even reported to have conducted a recce of the Parliament building much before executing the plot. It raises the question how the plotters of so grave an act can go unnoticed by the agencies for so long. That they were able to come to the national capital from various parts of the country passing under the security radar is indeed scary. The Parliament has a multi-layered security system which involves frisking at several points.
It is unfathomable that people can carry potentially dangerous material into the House without being caught. It is fortunate that the accused in this plot appear to have no sinister designs and hence our lawmakers who include the nation’s senior leaders are safe now. However, their security is a matter that cannot be left to the mercy of some; it must be the fruit of the care our agencies take to secure them.
The two who managed to enter the House had their passes signed by the BJP member from Mysuru. Though there are very strict rules on issuing passes to visitors, it has been a practice among MPs to liberally do so, especially if the visitors are from their own constituencies. What would immediately follow will be to further tighten the system. While it is necessary that only bona fide visitors are allowed to enter the House, a panic reaction and the resultant security detail are almost sure to make Parliament an impenetrable fortress for the common man. The authorities will have to strike a logical balance between the requirements of security and popular access to the temple of democracy.
It is bit alarming that the whole episode took place on the 22nd anniversary of the dastardly terrorist attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001. The heavily armed assailants who belonged to terrorist organisations actively supported by Pakistan were on a mission to jolt the Indian State. India, however, stood up as one people and defeated their designs. The show of camaraderie by leaders across the spectrum helped the nation survive the attack and defeat the sinister designs behind it.
The Opposition is well within its rights to demand that the government come out with a detailed explanation of what happened. The BJP often resorts to chest-thumping when it comes to mattes of security. Instead of getting members who pose legitimate questions suspended, the government it leads must sit with them and explain patiently what has happened, what the government has been doing and the best that can be done in the future.
Those who lead the government must show the level of maturity shown by those who helmed the establishment when the Parliament was attacked in a more lethal manner two decades ago. Democracy is all about consensus-building and the government must take the
lead for that.
