Lessons from Breach of Security in Indian Parliament

On an infamous date of 13 Dec 2023, couple of unarmed youths attempted to create disruption and chaos in the new parliament by jumping on to the floor of Lok Sabha from the visitor’s gallery. They were shouting some familiar slogans of opposition parties of Modi govt’s while trying to move towards the well of the house in session. It was a courageous effort on part of some of the MPs in their seats to surround the youth from all sides and hand over to the security after some slapping which was uncalled for as he was unarmed. The MPs were fortunate that the youth was not wielding knives or Kalashnikov, shouting Alla-hu-Akbar as it often happens the recent years and decades…not only in India but the world over. It emerged later that there were some youths shouting the same slogan with similar plot just outside the parliament too. What is very disturbing is that these four or more youths were pooled from different parts of the country, someone crafting this breach very carefully possibly to symbolise it.

A Reminder of the Past

The date is infamous because Pakistan’s plot to push five LeT & JeM terrorists into the Indian parliament armed with AK-47 and grenades were foiled 22 yrs back. That time the intent was to carry out mass murders of the MPs in the parliament, trying to convey a message to the govt of India that Pakistani handlers of terror can annihilate India at will. Of course, some Indian Muslims too had conspired in their sordid act. India was lucky to have killed some of those terrorists and bring the others to justice. This year there had been some indirect intelligence inputs to the security agencies of possible misadventure but it was not credible enough to have taken a serious cognizance for whatever reasons.

Some Apparent Facts

Coming back to the current security breach, few facts have already emerged within hours of their misdeed. These include the followings:-

• The names of the misguided youth are already known.
• They were pooled from Karnataka, Maharashtra, UP and Haryana.
• Some of them are engineering student and at least one woman had taken part in Kisaan protest few years back.
• All these miscreants gathered in the house of a person 'Viky Sharma' in Haryana the previous night to finetune their planning. One person 'lalit' remained outside the Op area, keping all their mobile phones.
• One person from Mysore had sought a visitor’s pass from the BJP MP of his constituency on the pretext of visiting the new parliament house.
• The person who jumped into the floor of house, had a harmless plastic gas canister concealed in his shoes. It is important to note that he didn’t attack anyone.

Why all four didn’t enter the parliament visitor’s gallery, is not known at this stage. It could be either they could not manage visitors’ passes or planned an apparently unlikely event of drawing the most security staff towards them so that the others could have the ease of operations. Both groups had gas or smoke canisters each which they operated. As mentioned, both groups were shouting slogans “तानाशाही नहीं चलेगी, देश में गरीबी, बेरोजगारी etc, etc”. These are the slogans often chanted by the opponents of Modi govt both inside and outside Indian parliament.

A penetrative Look at the Facts

It is remarkably fortunate that the group had no arms/ammunition/explosives or other weapons. Just four youths had attempted it…BUT…for what??? Their intent was surely not a terror act. They harmed or attacked none. It was surely a messaging act of optics to show that security of the parliament is vulnerable, and another 2001-type of attack could be launched. There is no doubt that security set-up of the parliament is suspect and vulnerable to fail. There is also no doubt that the youths would have gone thru’ the metal detector which obviously failed to detect the plastic canister concealed in the shoes. It is possible that should another group at a later date try to smuggle plastic explosives in their shoes, garments or attached to body parts / inserted in concealed body openings, security may fail to detect them. This is a serious matter that needs consideration.

In the parliamentary democracy, it is natural for the MPs/MLAs to oblige their constituencies with small favours like recommending visitor’s passes for such purposes as visiting parliament, witnessing live sessions or the likes of. These MPs/MLAs are no security experts to check the complete antecedents of their voters comprehensively. This has to be done by specialized security agencies of the parliament before letting them in. In addition, they must ensure that no object that may threaten security, are smuggled-in by whosoever. Hence, the MPs/MLAs alone cannot be held responsible for the collective failure of the entire security system. It is also a matter of concern how a person can jump from the visitor’s gallery unchallenged into the floor of the house where MPs sit. It is immaterial what could be the intent, such possibility itself is a risk.

The Possibilities

It is for sure that these four youths in a country of 1.4 billion people couldn’t be serving the purpose of the narratives they were chanting. Someone behind the scenes has carefully crafted the entire happenings. Even the house of Vicky Sharma in Gurugram where all of them gathered the previous night, couldn’t be the mastermind because it was sure that if anyone of them was apprehended, that location will be under police lens in no time. He could be recipient of funds and masterplan. There has to be a remotely located mastermind away from the public eyes, behind the scenes, that the national security has to look for. It cannot be an isolated body but an eco-system involved in the disruption on behalf of both external and internal enemies. The external enemies could be Pakistan, China or the networks of the world Jihadists & Khalistanis. The internal enemies could be the Indian ecosystem of Jihadists (often supported by others), Naxalite bodies or the desperate political system named ‘I-N-D-I-A’ trying to shame/embarrass Modi govt (read “India Diseased by Three cancers”, https://thecounterviews.in/articles/india-diseased-by-three-cancers-the-communalism-congress-and-communism/). There are some minor elements of Manipur-like miscreants and M-Y promoters of politics too but their involvement is unlikely. It may also be noted that politicians of I-N-D-I alliance are already drawing parallels between security threats posed by Mahua Moitra with the present security breach in which BJP MP recommended visitor’s pass is only a small part, undoubtedly unjustified.

Among the most probable masterminds is Pakistan (alone or assisted by International Jihadists) who could have funded the act with no Jihadist or group involved, to distract the public or investigating body. Their aim could be two. Firstly, to explore if Hindus could be made to work for them and secondly, to find the security loopholes & intricacies involved in another future attack. We must remember that they have tried it unsuccessfully in the past too. American/UK/Canadian Khalistani fugitives funded by Pak ISI could be another group which has found new footholds in recent years in Haryana/Punjab with possible support of AAP (Haryana & Delhi). Their presence was also observed in Farmer’s protest. The next most possible mastermind could be the political traitors of Indi alliance to embarrass the union govt and try to drill holes in the national security system claimed to be robust. The only counterargument is whether they would like to fall so low on the political ethics. All these need to be investigated fully by multi-pronged agencies incl NIA. There should be no doubt that Home Minister Mr Amit Shah will leave no stone unturned to investigate the conspiracies and expose the mastermind whosoever they may be. It goes without saying that security SOP for the Parliament and other constitutional, financial and national development bodies need to be strengthened to become foolproof.

The bottom-line

The current security breach at the Indian parliament is a serious threat. There is no doubt that it has been crafted to create optics of symbolism that could have serious consequences. The mastermind of this plot in all probability is hiding behind the scenes. There could be many possible plotters of the breach that needs to be investigated by multi-pronged bodies. Surely, there are loopholes in the present security system that need to be plugged and be made foolproof.