Rahul Gandhi blames unemployment for Parliament security breach
What's the story
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has blamed unemployment and inflation due to the Narendra Modi government's policies for the security breach in Parliament.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Gandhi said, "A security breach happened in Lok Sabha. The reason behind this is unemployment and inflation due to PM Modi's policies."
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has arrested Mahesh Kumawat, the sixth accused in the Parliament breach case. He is a native of Rajasthan's Nagaur district.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Two people, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery on Wednesday, shouting slogans and setting off smoke bombs.
Two others, Amol Shinde and Neelam Azad, carried out a similar act outside Parliament before being apprehended.
Reportedly, all the accused were unemployed and facing several issues, including financial.
The incident came on the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack when five terrorists killed a gardener and eight security personnel.
Twitter Post
Watch: Gandhi addressing media
#WATCH | On Parliament security breach incident, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "Why did this happen? The main issue in the country is unemployment. Due to the policies of PM Modi, the youth of the country are not getting employment and the reason behind (this incident) is… pic.twitter.com/iVNrp6xtpv
— ANI (@ANI) December 16, 2023
Details
Congress President Kharge criticizes Home Minister Amit Shah
Separately, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah for not discussing the Parliament security breach in the House.
He also accused Shah of only speaking to the media and avoiding official statements.
In response to Shah's claim that opposition parties were politicizing the issue, Kharge said, "He seeks votes by taking Congress's name, (and) takes votes by abusing Nehru ji and Gandhi ji."
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre and opposition continue to clash over the incident.
What Next?
Know about Parliament security breach incident
On December 13, two intruders entered the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, releasing yellow-colored smoke and shouting slogans.
MPs and Parliament security staff subdued them, ending the chaos.
Police claimed to have arrested six accused so far, including the alleged mastermind, Lalit Jha, who surrendered to police on Thursday.
While the five accused, including the intruders and Jha, were sent to police custody, the sixth accused, Kumawat, was arrested on Saturday.
Accused
6th accused sent to 7-day police custody
According to India Today, Kumawat was arrested by the Delhi Police on Saturday after hours of questioning. He has been sent to seven-day police custody.
Reportedly, he was also in Delhi on Wednesday when two people stormed into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery. He was allegedly involved in the destruction of the mobile phones of the four accused.
Jha, the main conspirator, had fled from Delhi to Kumawat's "hideout" in Rajasthan following the incident.