Security breach at Indian parliament as ‘intruders throw smoke bombs’ at MPs

Security breach comes on anniversary of deadly 2001 terrorist attack on parliament

Two men entered the MP’s chamber in India’s lower house of parliament on Wednesday and threw smoke bombs in a major security lapse.

The two jumped into the well where lawmakers sit from the visitors’ gallery and let off smoke canisters, filling the space with yellow smoke.

Prime minister Narendra Modi was not in parliament at the time.

The security breach comes on the 22nd anniversary of a deadly 2001 terrorist attack on parliament that killed 14 people, including security officers and five gunmen.

Live televised footage of the proceedings showed lawmakers stunned by the incident attempting to catch the men as they climbed from desk to desk.

Both houses were adjourned briefly moments later.

Two suspects have been taken into custody following the security breach, police said.

Two more people, a man named Anmol from Maharashtra and a woman named Neelam from Haryana, were detained outside the parliament complex for staging a protest and releasing a smoke bomb.

Police said they are trying to ascertain if the two incidents are linked.

“Both of them have been nabbed and the materials with them have also been seized. The two people outside the parliament have also been arrested by police,” said Om Birla, Speaker of the lower house, or Lok Sabha. “In the primary investigation, it has been found that it was just smoke and there is no need to worry about the smoke,” he said.

Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, who helped restrain the men, said MPs heard a commotion during the last moments of zero hour (a question-time period that begins at noon).

“He had something in his hand which was emitting yellow-coloured smoke. I snatched it away and continued throwing it outside ... this is a major security breach,” Mr Aujla said.

BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal, who was presiding over the session, told reporters: “There is a loophole for sure. When the first person came down, we thought he might have fallen but when the second person started coming down, all of us became cautious.”

“The person tried to open his shoes and took something out after which smoke came out. Action will be taken against this. The speaker and responsible people will make the decision on this.”

“On this day, India‘s parliament has been attacked again,” lawmaker Karti Chidambaram told reporters outside parliament.

Members in the Lok Sabha said the suspects were shouting: ‘Tana shahi nahi chalegi’ (dictatorship will not be tolerated).

On 13 December 2001, five heavily armed terrorists breached the security of the parliament complex and opened fire indiscriminately, targeting security personnel and lawmakers in a standoff that went on for hours. The attack resulted in the deaths of nine people (including eight security personnel), and five terrorists.

Earlier in the day, president Droupadi Murmu, Mr Modi and other leaders, including from the Congress party, had paid tribute to the victims of the attack.

“Today itself, we paid floral tribute to our bravehearts who sacrificed their lives during the Parliament attack and today itself there was an attack here inside the House. Does it prove that we failed to maintain a high level of security?” Mr Birla asked. He also praised MPs for their fearlessness in catching the two intruders.

The incident also comes just months after Mr Modi inaugurated the newly built parliament building, a project that cost £97m, to move to a modern complex from a colonial-era building.

The triangular-shaped parliament complex is just across from the old, circular heritage building built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1927.

But the move drew intense criticism from opposition politicians, architects and heritage experts, many of whom called the expensive project environmentally irresponsible and a threat to cultural heritage.