At the outset, it must be clearly stated that the massive security breach on Wednesday – where two protestors managed to clear multiple layers of security checks, smuggled smoke canisters into the Lok Sabha, and jumped into the House from the visitor’s gallery – is a massive security breach and depicts just how lackadaisical our internal security and law enforcement systems continue to be. We will analyze why Bharat continues to be a soft state where sundry lawless ‘protests’ are routinely allowed leading to severe hardship for ordinary citizens as well as waste of precious national resources, later in this article.
First, let’s examine the motely crew of 6 people – 5 male and 1 female – involved in this serious breach, where anti-government slogans were raised and yellow-smoke released from gas canisters, both inside and outside the Parliament.
Sagar Sharma (26) and Manoranjan Devarajegowda (34) — jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour. Around the same time, two other accused — Amol Shinde (25) and Neelam Singh/Verma/Azad (37) — sprayed yellow-coloured gas from canisters while shouting “tanashahi nahi chalegi” (‘no to dictatorship’) outside Parliament.
The mastermind of this gang is said to be Lalit Jha, a native of Bihar who now reportedly resides in Kolkata, and is connected to left-leaning causes and NGOs. He was the one recording the video outside Parliament, and managed to escape in the ensuing chaos. The group had assembled at the house of one Vishal Sharma in Gurugram just days before their ‘protest’.
All 6 of them have been arrested, and police have also named a seventh – Mahesh, a labourer, who was supposed to join the others. The investigation is ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the conspiracy and real motives behind the breach of Parliament security.
Neelam is highly-qualified but ‘unemployed’, and seems to be a dedicated andolanjeevi and ‘krantikari‘. She allegedly participated in the farmers, wrestlers and anti-CAA protests, and there is also evidence that she campaigned for Congress and INLD during the last Haryana elections.
More evidence is emerging each day about their typical leftist-Communist indoctrination and idolization of figures like Che Guevera. The UP ATS team is looking into suspicions that Sagar Sharma may have had ties with the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Sagar’s father has claimed that his son was influenced by a friend from Bengaluru to undertake the disruptive act. Manoranjan D, a well-read engineer, used to make frequent trips to New Delhi and Bengaluru from Mysuru, and his alleged involvement in the farmer protest in 2020-21 is also being probed.
This is 26yo 12th pass Sagar Sharma, living in oblivion. Idolising themselves as Bhagat Singh, Azad & Che Guevara. Brainwashed with WhatsApp misinfo. Talking about "kranti", against what?
— The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeyex) December 15, 2023
This is nothing but product of relentless fake narrative of communists, leftist media,… pic.twitter.com/RVKIydbgAy
The group has claimed that they connected through the ‘Bhagat Singh Fan Club’ on social media, and their plan to ‘gain attention by infiltrating the parliament’ was hatched in 2022 during an initial meeting in Mysuru, Karnataka. The idea seems to have been to recreate the famous episode from 1929 when freedom fighters Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw political pamphlets and bombs into the Central Legislative Assembly at Delhi from the visitor’s gallery, in order to protest repressive bills and court arrest.
As per the instructions of Lalit Jha, believed to be the main conspirator, Manoranjan conducted a reconnaissance of the Parliament building during the Monsoon Session in July, and discovered that the security did not check visitors’ shoes. It is reported that the gas cannisters were concealed inside shoes and smuggled into Parliament. Pamphlets recovered from the group include one calling the PM a “missing person” with a cash reward from a Swiss bank, and another on the Manipur violence.
Opposition leaders were quick to pounce upon the government following this breach, and almost all of them reiterated some key talking points – this incident took place on the anniversary of the deadly 13 Dec, 2001 terror attack on the Parliament by Islamic terrorists; it happened in the new Parliament complex which many in Opposition had opposed; the two men who entered Parliament managed to get visitor passes through BJP MP Pratap Simha’s office, so both Simha and Home Minister Amit Shah must resign.
It is also noteworthy that US-based Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had recently threatened to attack Bharat’s Parliament ‘on or before December 13’. Yellow is also the favored color for Khalistani activists. But no Khalistani link so far has surfaced in this case.
Many had predicted that this group would find legal representation from left-liberal circles, and that also seems to be unfolding with one Adv. Asim Sarode, who featured in Rahul Gandhi’s much-hyped Bharat Jodo Yatra, coming forward to legally fight for Amol Shinde.
This roast by the inimitable Ajeet Bharti captures the spirit of this entire episode, which clearly appears tailor-made for Opposition propaganda. Publicity-seeking stunts have exploded on the Indian political scene, especially after the advent of the rent-a-cause AAP party. During an AAP rally in April 2015 to protest against the Land Acquisition Ordinance, farmer Gajendra Singh committed ‘suicide’ in mysterious circumstances. Circumstantial evidence suggested a strong possibility that Gajendra Singh was asked by AAP leaders to stage a suicide attempt to attract media attention, but the stunt went horribly wrong.
Following the thumping re-election of PM Modi in the 2019 general elections, Opposition and anti-Hindu forces have hit upon the idea of lengthy sit-in protests to wear down the government and citizenry and delegitimize key legislative reforms, with a fair degree of success. This latest ‘protest’ in Parliament will most likely be used to amplify the pet Opposition theme of ‘disenchanted youth’ in the run-up to 2024 general elections, while also being used to attack the government’s claims of improved national security.
The breach & what it tells us about the state of our Republic
Although the political puppeteers of this ‘protest’ are not hard to detect, the fact remains that the security breach that took place on Wednesday is unpardonable….and shows just how vulnerable we still remain despite genuine successes of security agencies like NIA in combatting both Islamic and Maoist terror.
As per media reports, “The security of the Parliament complex is managed by Delhi Police, paramilitary forces and a specialised department called Parliament Security Service (PSS). …Inside, it’s the PSS and Delhi Police that is in charge. PSS, led by a joint secretary-level officer – usually from the Indian Police Service and Delhi Police – has three levels of security check for any visitor – at the entrance of the Parliament complex right before guest passes are made, at the gate of the new Parliament building, and right before the visitor enters the gallery. A thorough checking awaits the visitors at every level and they are not allowed to carry anything, including pens or books, inside the House. PSS escorts the visitors who come to the galleries to watch the proceedings…In all galleries, House Marshals – or security officers – sit in the front row throughout the proceedings. Guests are not allowed to occupy the front row seats.”
The failure of such elaborate checks, and the seeming absence of any Marshals/officers in front row of the visitor’s gallery, as well as the inability of security staff to immediately apprehend or immobilize the two men who jumped into the House, shows either sheer incompetence or an inside hand.
As some hawk-eyed handles have observed, this incident “exposed not just serious security lapses but also our MPs who are completely unaware, untrained, unprepared for such breach”. The tragicomic scrum that ensued on the lawns of the Parliament with journalists scrambling to get hold of one of the cannisters used by the protestors, and the lackadaisical way a policewoman was seen leading away Neelam while allowing her to give soundbites to media – added to the overall picture of unprofessionalism and sloppiness.
The demands for police reforms have been echoing for around 1-2 decades now, and a complete modernization of all arms of police and other internal security agencies is long overdue. Just the basic equipment and demeanor of our police looks outdated, without even getting into their internal processes and training.
But what arguably weakens our response to crime and security challenges the most is the inability of our justice system to dispense speedy and deterrent justice. There is a high chance that these 6 members of this group who orchestrated this breach in one of the highest-security zones of the country, will get off with mild punishment, if that. Their cases will likely drag on for years. When even hardcore terrorists and criminals convicted for serious crimes manage to earn the empathy of our judiciary, this disruption of Parliament will soon be presented as ‘democratic right to protest’ by one of the several busybodies who fashion themselves as public intellectuals. We are a Republic that even allows known separatists to become MPs, so there is every chance that these 6 ‘protestors’ had inside help from some very well-connected individuals!
Unless we change the fundamental nature of our Republic and recognize what we truly are – a Dharmic civilizational state where wrong-doers face the full brunt of the law – expect more lawless ‘protests’ and learn to live with the reality that we are citizens of a weak/confused State.
