India parliament intrusion: Opposition raises security breach issue as seven personnel suspended

Seven personnel were suspended by the Lok Sabha secretariat on Thursday (Dec 14), a day after a massive security breach on the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament, ANI news agency reported.

Among the personnel suspended includeRampal, Arvind, Vir Das, Ganesh, Anil, Pradeep, Vimitt and Narendra.

Meanwhile, opposition parties convened a private meeting to raise the issue of security breach in both houses of the parliament. At the same time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met with top ministers to discuss the matter.

Stormy scenes in both houses of parliament

The Rajya Sabha (upper house) witnessed a tense first hour of the session on Thursday morning as Trinamool Congress (TMC) Derek O'Brien sought a discussion on the incident and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's presence in the House. However, these demands were promptly rejected byRajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, triggering a loud protest from other opposition parties.

Dhankhar then named the Bengal politician and asked him to leave the House immediately.

"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," Mr Dhankhar said, ejecting the Trinamool leader for "disorderly conduct".

Dhankar then assured the MPs thata high-level investigation had been initiated into the security breach, and that a police case had been filed. Subsequently,Rajya Sabha was adjourned.

Similar scenes were also witnessed in Lok Sabha as theopposition MPs demanded the resignation of Amit Shah over the incident.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also addressed the issue in the parliament, saying that the government is looking into the matter with utmost importance.

"The incident is quite unfortunate. All the MPs both from the ruling party and opposition must ensure that passes should not be given to those who can create an anarchic situation in the House," Singh said. He also criticised the opposition for their "behaviour" in the house.

Police arrest five a day after the incident

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla later adjourned the session till 2 pm (local time) amid sloganeering, before saying that the security of the House is the responsibility of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

On Wednesday, five people were arrested for hurling smoke canisters inside Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament).

The arrested include Sagar Sharma and D Manoranjan, who used yellow smoke canisters inside Lok Sabha, and Neelam Devi and Amol Shinde, who burst red and yellow canisters outside Parliament.

Later, another person named Vicky Sharma was arrested for allegedly sheltering others at his Gurgaon home.