Mann told to stay out of House during probe
NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan constituted a panel to probe AAP MP Bhagwant Mann’s video, which allegedly compromised parliamentary security arrangements, and “advised” him against attending the House till the matter was settled.
Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Monday constituted a panel to probe Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann’s video, which allegedly compromised parliamentary security arrangements, and “advised” him against attending the House till the matter was settled.
Mann’s act of posting the video on social media “put the security of Parliament in peril”, she said, adding that all the political leaders she consulted approved of the measures taken.
BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, who was among the first to cite the security risks posed by the video, will head the nine-member panel of parliamentarians. It has been told to submit the probe report by August 3.
The committee got down to work immediately, holding its first meeting the same evening. It was given a report by Parliament’s watch-and-ward section on the video’s security implications, a source told HT.
The Lok Sabha secretariat also forwarded Mann’s letter of apology, which the speaker had rejected, to the panel. Mahajan asked the MP to give his side of the story to the panel by Tuesday. Mann, however, sought three days’ time to furnish his response.
The Sangrur MP had livestreamed the journey from his Delhi home to Parliament House, besides the Lok Sabha balloting system.
By way of an explanation, Mann said he wanted to demystify parliamentary procedures for his electorate back home.
As the news of Mahajan’s decision emerged, Mann alleged that the “grand alliance” of the BJP, Congress and Akalis had hatched a conspiracy against him because he was “very active in the House and raised public issues”.
“This decision means I won’t be able to raise public issues till August 3. They could have allowed me to attend the House while appearing before the committee. Attending the Parliament session is my right (and that of the people I represent).
They have encroached on the rights of lakhs of people,” he said.