There has been major hue and cry over Parliament security. The uproar was sparked by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Parliament Bhagwant Mann shooting a video clip of himself going past the various security checkpoints while entering Parliament House and uploading it on social media. Uploading of the clip of the MP’s journey from home to the Lok Sabha drew flak from several quarters.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s statement that the matter is serious is undoubtedly justified. Parliament is the symbol of democracy and Parliament House the sanctum sanctorum. Everything concerning Parliament must be treated with utmost respect. The filming of the procedure of entry into Parliament House and the subsequent uploading on social media is a clear violation of this principle and a breach of trust that MPs are clearly given. This act of one Member has put the entire security of Parliament in peril.
This is all the more regrettable as the Parliament has earlier come under attack. As many as six Delhi Police personnel and two Parliament Security Service staff, as well as a gardener, lost their lives when terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed had attacked Parliament December 13, 2001. The attack had resulted in a stand-off between India and Pakistan. The entire security system of Parliament House was then reviewed and overhauled. Now, with the irresponsible MP uploading the video, the entire security net stands exposed. The whole security system has to go through a change to ensure that the uploaded video has no impact.
Mann cannot claim to be unaware that he should not be filming the security procedures. Even regular citizens do not film security protocols in malls, railway stations or airports. An elected representative behaving in such a manner is unacceptable. A far more grave crime is to have uploaded the video on social media. This has wide implications as now the world can see how the security system operates in and around Indian Parliament House. In the present situation where terror attacks have peaked and are happening with surprising frequency and intensity, this video is a bonanza for all those who wish to do our country harm.
Mann’s statement that his intention was not to jeopardise Parliament’s security is ridiculous, to say the least. The MP has stated that he wanted to educate people. “I wanted to make people aware of how their grievances are selected through lucky draw,” he is reported to have said. Hoping that people would swallow this excuse is an insult to their intelligence.
On the other hand, this episode raises questions about the present security system itself. Mann went through several check points during his filming. The personnel on duty either failed to notice him filming or ignored the incident. Both possibilities are dangerous. It is understandable that the security personnel would be hesitant to be firm with a Member of Parliament. Moreover, this kind of breach of trust has never happened before.
Now, Parliament staff must have learnt a lesson and would have to be more vigilant, since this single elected representative has proven that even MPs are not to be trusted. The tightening of protocol will surely put other Members of Parliament at inconvenience. But it needs to be done. As they say, one rotten apple can do enough damage.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s defence that “The suspension of Mann from Parliament is like strangling the common man in a democracy,” is not credible. Even less credible is Mann’s statement that this is “a political conspiracy to malign AAP as these parties are scared because we are going to get the majority in the Punjab assembly polls”.
The security of our institutions is not something to be taken lightly and the security of Parliament, the seat of democracy, is paramount. Any threat to this must be dealt with immediately and firmly.