The Karnataka Assembly plunged into chaos on Wednesday as members of the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP sparred over the Parliament security breach that took place earlier in the day. After leaders from both parties condemned the incident, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said it was Pratap Simha, a BJP MP from the state, who had issued entry passes to the attackers who threw smoke canisters inside Parliament. And Congress MLA Nayana Motamma asked whether BJP leaders “would have defended the lapse if it were not a BJP MP who had issued the passes”. This led to a heated exchange between the Congress and BJP members and some objectionable remarks were made, which were struck off the record by Speaker UT Khader. During the post-lunch session, the issue was raised by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil, who described the breach as a “criminal spray attack”. “The security and intelligence failure is unpardonable. We should take it seriously,” he said. Leader of the Opposition R Ashok as well as Home Minister G Parameshwara spoke along the similar lines. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who spoke next, said, “That our Lok Sabha member has given the pass is the information we have,” without naming anyone. Shivakumar, rising to speak next, took a veiled dig at Simha saying the MP was “very intelligent.. I do not know why he gave this pass. LoP (Ashok) should take responsibility and advise him.” The Opposition benches then rose to protest against the remarks. “I do not know why DK Shivakumar is politicising it. His brother (DK Suresh) is also an MP. What if he had issued the passes?” Ashoka said, leading to a ruckus in the House. Khader soon adjourned the House for 10 minutes, before issuing directions to ramp up security at the state legislature complexes in Belagavi and Bengaluru. He said all legislators should be more cautious while issuing visitors’ passes. “Without verifying visitors' Aadhaar cards and other details, do not issue passes,” he added.
