Question Hour, 11.50 am

As the siren was sounded, bomb detection and disposal squads, assisted by sniffer dogs, were brought in and security forces went on high alert both inside and outside the complex. Almost two hours of combing later, the all-clear signal was given.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had just wrapped up a meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, was escorted out of the building to his office in South Block.

All ministers, MPs, staff and mediapersons were asked to move out of the premises. All roads leading to Parliament House and South and North Blocks, where the offices of the Prime Minister and key ministries are located, were sealed.

When both Houses reassembled at 3 pm, Home Minister Shivraj Patil informed the members that the American consulate in Chennai had received an e-mail, saying that there would be bomb explosions in Parliament House and American consulates in the country at 11.46 am. The American Embassy in New Delhi also gave this information.

The information, Patil said, was conveyed to Tamil Nadu police which informed Delhi. It was quickly passed on to Parliament.

The e-mail said there would be explosions at 11.46 am in American counsulates and Parliament House. “If you can stop, try and stop”, it said adding “Long live Osama bin Laden”. The e-mail had come through the Sify domain and was traced to Tirunelveli in south Tamil Nadu.

When the Lok Sabha reassembled, Speaker Chatterjee said “nothing can cow us down” and said “…. (we) reiterate our resolve to be alert and be in preparedness to combat all such threat.”

Teams of elite National Seurity Guards and sniffer dogs conducted a second round of searches before both houses met again. Home Minister Patil justified the decision to evacuate Parliament: “What has been done is correct and it was necessary.”

Pranab Mukherjee, Leader of the House in Lok Sabha and Defence Minister, expressed the Government’s resolve to fight terror. “We are sorry that the business of the House had to be disrupted and the House had to be adjourned.

But, at the same time, on an occasion like this, we could not take any risk,” he said, assuring members that all possible measures would be taken. Leader of Opposition L K Advani said the Government should track down the person who sent the e-mail. “We were firm on Parliament being reconvened today to send out a message,” Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said.