BJP IT cell trying to divert attention from Parliament security breach: Congress

New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya of seeking to divert attention from the Parliament security breach, and said the intruders were given access to the House by a BJP MP.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said this after Malviya shared pictures in which a woman arrested in connection with Wednesday's incident is seen purportedly campaigning for the Congress.

In a post on 'X', Ramesh said, "BJP IT Cell desperately wants to divert attention from 2 facts: 1. There was a very serious breach in the security of Parliament. 2. The intruders who breached Lok Sabha security in a shocking manner had been given access to the Parliament by Pratap Simha, BJP MP from Mysuru." Sharing the pictures on 'X', Malviya earlier said, "Regime change is a phrase Congress leaders often use." "Meet Neelam Azad, the lady who breached Parliament's security today. She is an active Congress/I.N.D.I Alliance supporter. She is an Andolanjeevi, who has been seen at several protests," he said.

"Question is who sent them? Why did they pick someone from Mysore to obtain Parliament pass from a BJP MP... Remember the Opposition will stop at nothing, not even defiling the Parliament, highest institution of our democracy," the BJP leader added.

In a separate post tagging a video of the father of Manoranjan, another accused in the Parliament security breach incident, Malviya said, "Was Manoranjan active with Congress and/or SFI sponsored movements? Did he attend Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra?" "The last word on this is not out yet'¦ But one thing is clear: the Opposition defiled Parliament on 13th Dec with a purpose," he said.

In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, two persons -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D -- jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by the MPs.

Around the same time, two other accused -- Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi -- also sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting "tanashahi nahi chalegi" outside Parliament premises.

Sagar, Manoranjan, Amol and Neelam are now in police custody. Their accomplice Vishal, in whose house the accused stayed before reaching Parliament, has been detained from Gurugram while a hunt is on for their other accomplice Lalit. PTI