House session marked by breach, suspensions ends

An acrimonious winter session of Parliament that saw a serious lapse in the security of the heavily fortified building with two intruders jumping into the Lok Sabha with smoke canisters; a record number (146) of lawmakers being suspended from both Houses; and 10 important bills passed by Parliament, mostly in the absence of the Opposition, ended on Thursday, a day ahead of schedule.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran

The security lapse, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to as a serious issue, overshadowed the legislative process.

During the customary exchange of greetings with floor leaders at the end of the session with most Opposition leaders missing-Modi, HT learns, said all possible steps should be taken to ensure a foolproof security system.

According to a person aware of the details, the PM also told lawmakers that the issue was "selectively" raised by the Opposition, referring to an incident that took place in the Karnataka assembly in July, when a man sat through part of the proceedings for about an hour. Among those present for the meeting were Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Pralhad Joshi, Bhartruhari Mahatab of the BJD and Rahul Shewale of Shiva Sena (Shinde faction).

"The PM said the issue was not publicised by the media and the offender was let off with a warning," said the person, speaking on condition of anonymity. The reference is to an incident that happened during the budget session of the Karnataka assembly, when a 70-year-old man, claiming to b an MLA, entered the House and spent some time listening to the chief minister's speech before other MLAs raised an alarm.