Two men wrongfully entered the floor of India’s parliament house in a security breach that halted proceedings on the anniversary of a terrorist attack two decades ago.
Both the men jumped into the house from the visitors’ gallery and rushed toward the Lok Sabha speaker’s chair, opposition lawmaker Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar told reporters. The people were caught by security officials and the proceedings of the lower house was adjourned, she added.
Images and videos showed that the individuals released some smoke inside the parliament’s chamber, while one attempted to hop over the benches as lawmakers surrounded him.
"The incident is being investigated and the Delhi Police is also looking into this,” Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla told lawmakers after the house reconvened. Both the men along with two others from outside the parliament have been arrested with the paraphernalia they were carrying, he said.
On Dec. 13, 2001, 11 people were killed in a shootout after India’s parliament was attacked by some gunmen.
"Where did the security officers go during this. They were not here,” said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the opposition Congress party in the lower house during a discussion on the subject.
