‘No Lapse On Our Part, Makar Dwar Incident Unprecedented’: CISF On Parliament Scuffle
Last Updated:
The CISF said it chooses to keep mum when MPs make such allegations, even as the ruling and opposition sides accused each other of manhandling, pushing and shoving
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi after clashes between India Bloc and NDA MPs, at Parliament complex, in New Delhi on December 19. (Image: PTI)
The CISF has denied that there was any lapse on its part leading to the clashes between political parties at Parliament’s ‘Makar Dwar’ on December 19. It said it chooses to keep mum when MPs make such allegations, even as both sides accused the other of manhandling, pushing and shoving.
“There was no lapse on part of CISF (Central Industrial Security Force)… If by lapse you mean weapons were allowed, then no weapon was allowed,” said DIG (operations) Srikant Kishore.
The Congress had alleged that sticks attached to posters were used by BJP leaders. “The MPs were carrying sticks. The RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) has a historic relationship with the stick. Today, it has reached inside Parliament. This was never allowed before,” Congress MP Manickam Tagore said.
The CISF, which is incharge of parliamentary security, said the rule book does not allow the screening or search of MPs. But, it conceded that what happened at Makar Dwar was unexpected and unprecedented.
“It is not part of the SOP (standard operating procedure) to screen any MP,” Kishore said.
Asked if there was an attempt to divide the Makar Dwar entry for the members of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and INDIA bloc, he said there was no such physical partition between the two protesting groups.
“No one expected this kind of a situation…so no such measures were taken,” he said.
ALSO READ | ‘Hooliganism’ Or ‘Distraction’? Parliament Chaos Snowballs Into Big BJP Vs Congress Row
Senior Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is facing an FIR linked to the Parliament scuffle after BJP MPs Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput were left injured. The CISF said it is carrying out its own internal assessment of the incident.
The Delhi Police are likely to record the statement of the two injured MPs and seize CCTV footage to probe the charges against Gandhi.
