Parliament security breach: BJP MP Pratap Simha breaks silence on Opposition accusations

| Updated: 24 December, 2023 6:05 pm IST

NEW DELHI : Bharatiya Janata Party’s Lok Sabha MP Pratap Simha said that the people’s judgement would prevail in the 2024 General Elections while addressing allegations of being an accomplice in the Parliament security breach.

“Whether Pratap Simha is a traitor or a patriot, the verdict will come through votes in the April 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The people of Karnataka, readers who have followed my writings for two decades, and the residents of Mysuru and Kodagu who have witnessed my work for 9.5 years will decide,” said the Mysuru MP.

Earlier, the Congress-led Opposition had called for action against the BJP MP, accusing him of being a ‘traitor’. However, Simha said that he had entrusted God and his supporters to determine his allegiance to the nation as a traitor or a patriot.

“They (the people) are the ones who have to ultimately give the judgment. They will decide whether I’m a patriot. I leave it to their decision. I don’t have anything to say other than that,” Simha said.

During the Winter Session of the Lok Sabha, it was unearthed that the Mysuru MP’s office had issued visitor passes to the two intruders — Manoranjan D and Sagar Sharma — resulting in political turmoil, with the ouster of 143 Opposition MPs.

On Friday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had declared that Simha’s statement had been recorded during the investigation of the security breach case. The former journalist and two-time Lok Sabha MP still remains tight-lipped regarding the breach.

The Indian Parliament had faced a serious security breach on December 13, the 22nd Anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, during the course of which the two intruders had jumped into the chamber from the visitors’ gallery during Zero Hour. Upon entering, they started spraying coloured smoke across its halls while shouting anti-government slogans. However, they were overpowered by the MPs present.

Outside the Parliament, Neelam Devi and Anmol Shinde were protesting against the government using similar gas canisters. Delhi Police officials have revealed that Lalit Jha is the ‘mastermind’ behind the breach.

Presently, the police have six individuals in their custody.

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