Asked about the opposition’s allegation that the Centre was trying to suppress its voice, Joshi said, “No one is trying to suppress anyone’s voice, it is their opinion.I want to say, come and debate. Two bills are listed today. On Monday, there were three important bills to replace the IPC, the CrPC and the Evidence Act. We want a detailed discussion. We have allotted 15 hours.”
Joshi also said both Parliament buildings came under the purview of the Lok Sabha Speaker. “Both the buildings are under the Speaker’s purview. We are following the Speaker’s order. A high-level enquiry is going on. Saying that we will not allow the House to function… they (opposition) should behave responsibly,” he added.
BJP MP S P Singh Baghel accused the opposition of trying to politicise the issue. “The opposition is intentionally not allowing both Houses to function. The Speaker has written to the home minister, the probe has been given to the DG of the CRPF. What ideology they were influenced by, what was their intention, the home minister can make a statement only after these details come out. He will not make a statement with half information,” he said.
Asked about the opposition’s demand for suspension of BJP MP from Mysuru Pratap Simmha, on whose request Parliament passes were issued to the intruders, a source said, “We can’t say anything before the probe report comes to us.”
Parliament security breach case: Opposition slams BJP for protecting Mysuru MP Pratap Simmha
No end to logjam next week if Amit Shah stays away from Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha: Kharge
Insisting on Amit Shah’s statement on the security breach at Parliament, Congress on Friday said the “voluble” home minister would have voluntarily come to the two Houses if he could find a “Nehru link” to the December 13 scare. It warned that the Parliamentary logjam may continue next week too if Shah stays away from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and other opposition leaders boycotted the meeting called by the RS Chairman in the afternoon to resolve the deadlock.
In a letter to Dhankhar, Kharge complained that he was not doing anything about the opposition’s demand to direct the home minister to make a statement in the House. He also took exception to the fact that Shah on Thursday chose a media programme to make detailed remarks on the incident, while Parliament is in session.
The joint opposition of INDIA parties decided in the morning to continue to press for Shah’s statement, with senior allies questioning the suspension of MPs and demanding that they should all get suspended in solidarity. It was felt that if the government is keen to expel the opposition for the session, it should be allowed to have its way. The opposition was further incensed by the fact that Shah spoke to media instead of heeding their plea for a statement in parliament.
Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh said the fact that serious charges of UAPA have been pressed against the perpetrators of the attack serves as evidence that it was a major security breach, contrary to the government’s attempt to underplay it as a minor incident. To a query, Ramesh said the “why” of the attack, unemployment, is known to all, but the “how” of the attack has to be investigated by looking into the role played by BJP MP Pratap Simmha, who issued the passes for the perpetrators.
“Why this happened we know — frustration over unemployment. But the only issue agitating the INDIA alliance right now is how a breach of security of this magnitude happened in the great building that was only recently touted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a technological marvel. BJP is a past master in trying to divert attention from these issues,” he said.
Watch Breaking Parliament Security Breach: Opposition demands Amit Shah’s resignation
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