Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien was suspended from the Rajya Sabha on Thursday for the remainder of the Parliament winter session for “gross misconduct”, “unruly behaviour” and “defiance of the Chair” during the proceedings.

O’Brien had entered the well of the Upper House, as well as the inner well, and continuously shouted slogans, demanding a discussion on the major security breach in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday afternoon. 

Despite a warning from RS Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, O’Brien and other Opposition MPs continued to protest, demanding that Union Home Minister Amit Shah should be present in the House to reply on yesterday’s incident.

Dhankhar ruled that the TMC MP was disrupting the House proceedings and permitted the Leader of the Upper House, Piyush Goyal, to table a motion for the TMC leader’s suspension from Rajya Sabha for the remainder of the winter session. 

Adopting the motion for suspension, Dhankhar named the Bengal politician and directed him to leave the Upper House immediately. 

Listen: Parliament Attack: An eye-witness describes what happened in Lok Sabha

“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,” Dhankhar said, ejecting the Trinamool Congress leader for “disorderly conduct”.

Rajya Sabha was then adjourned. Prior to the adjournment, Dhankhar reassured the MPs that a high-level investigation had been opened into the security breach, and that a police case had been filed. 

Investigations and arrests

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met senior ministers to discuss the breach. The Prime Minister was not in Parliament on Wednesday as he was attending the swearing-in ceremonies of the BJP’s two new chief ministers — Mohan Yadav in Madhya Pradesh and Vishnu Deo Sai in Chhattisgarh.

At least six people were involved in the security breach inside and outside Parliament on Wednesday. 

Also read: Parliament security breach: Speaker Birla calls meeting of MPs; four arrested

Two men popped open smoke canisters in the Lok Sabha, while another man and a woman did likewise outside. All four have been arrested, as have a husband-and-wife duo who sheltered them in their Gurgaon home.

The four apprehended from Parliament have been identified as Sagar Sharma, D Manoranjan, Neelam Devi, and Amol Shinde. The Gurgaon man has been name as Vicky Sharma. A sixth man is on the run. 

Wednesday’s scare came on the 22nd anniversary of the terror attack on the old Parliament building by two Pakistan-based groups, which left nine dead, including eight security staff.

Anti-terror law

The four who deployed smoke canisters have been charged under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, besides sections in the Indian Penal Code. The six currently in custody, including the wife of Vicky Sharma, are being interrogated by Delhi Police’s anti-terror cell.

During questioning, they are understood to have told police that the breach was meant to draw the government’s attention to various issues, including the recent ethnic violence in Manipur and the unemployment levels in India.

Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan had secured visitors’ passes for the new Parliament building from the BJP’s Mysuru MP Prathap Simha.

Simha told Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that the former’s father had approached him for the passes, saying the son wanted to experience the new Parliament. The Opposition demanded investigating Simha, too.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW