New Delhi: Parliament was the scene of a serious breach in security on Wednesday, December 13, when two men jumped from the public gallery into the Lok Sabha hall and opened smoke canisters, causing House proceedings to be interrupted.The two received their entry passes from an MP of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and shouted slogans but did not attempt to harm anyone in the hall. The gas released by the canisters was also not harmful. They were overpowered and detained soon after, but chaos ensued in the lower house and opposition MPs later alleged that there were no protocols for emergency evacuation or rapid response.The Lok Sabha speaker has ordered a probe into the incident, while the Delhi police have arrested five persons in connection with the breach – and looking into the role of another person. The home ministry has also ordered a probe, which will be headed by the CRPF director general, according to reports.The security breach occurred on the anniversary of the 2001 attack on the parliament, then housed in a different building.What happenedVideos of live proceedings caught two men – Sagar Sharma and Mysuru-based Manoranjan D, an engineer by profession – jumping on desks towards, ostensibly, the well of the House. The canisters emitted a yellow or fluorescent smoke.Indian Express has reported that MPs told its reporters that the men were chanting slogans like, “Tana shahi nahi chalegi (dictatorship won’t be accepted).”The Hindu has reported that the two are believed to be in their late 20s, and received their visitors’ passes from Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha.Serious security breach in Parliament! Could have been lethal. pic.twitter.com/wB6XdE9qrv— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) December 13, 2023Around the same time, a man and a woman – Amol Shinde and Neelam – sprayed coloured gas from canisters while also shouting slogans like “tana shahi nahi chalegi” outside the Parliament premises. They were arrested close to the complex, near Transport Bhavan.Two other individuals, identified only as Lalit and Vikram, are suspected accomplices. Vikram was detained from Gurugram, and the Delhi police are on the lookout for Lalit.Breach was a ‘well-coordinated’ breach, police sayUnnamed sources in the Delhi police told the news agency PTI that the breach was carried out by six people in a “well-planned and well-coordinated” manner. The six individuals were in contact with each other on social media platforms and knew each other online “for the past four years”, the sources said. They “devised the plan a few days ago and they carried out a recce before coming to Parliament on Wednesday”, PTI reported.“Five of them stayed at Vikram’s residence in Gurugram before coming to the Parliament. As per the plan, all six wanted to go inside the parliament but only two got passes,” the source said.“They had the same ideology and hence decided to give a message to the government. The security agencies are trying to ascertain if they were instructed by anyone or any organisation. During interrogation, Amol said they were upset with issues like the farmers’ protest, Manipur crisis, unemployment, that’s why they committed this act,” a police source said, according to the news agency.Reactions from MPsBJP MP Rajendra Agarwal, who was presiding over the House proceedings when the incident took place, said that the parliamentarians initially thought that someone fell from the visitor’s gallery.“We thought that someone fell from the visitor’s gallery in front. But then we saw the second person. Then one of them took out a can from their shoes. By that time security personnel caught them. Now we will find out through the probe who they were, from where they have come and what their objective was,” he said to PTI.Agarwal had adjourned the house as soon as the incident took place.When the house proceedings resumed at 2 pm, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said that the incident was being probed.“The two persons who entered the house have been held and the two outside have also been held. The incident is being probed by the Delhi Police. Preliminary probe has shown that the gas released by them was not harmful.”As opposition MPs voiced concerns about safety, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury stood up and said that the incident on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament Attack raises questions.“The kind of security that should have been there, was it not there? All MPs came together to capture them. Where were the other security staff?”TMC MP Sudeep Bandyopadhyay also said that the incident is “very serious”.Birla then said that he would take up the concerns raised by the MPs and hold a discussion with them on how passes are issued later in the day.The public gallery will be closed indefinitely, it later emerged.Meanwhile, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi told the Deccan Herald that there was no rapid response team onsite or an emergency evacuation. Health protocols were also not followed, no he said, describing the situation as a “complete breakdown of security machinery”.“There was no rapid response onsite and no health protocol followed, no emergency evacuation; we saw complete breakdown of security machinery. Till now MPs are not being asked if they are alright – if they have a side effect, an asthma attack etc” @GauravGogoiAsm on today’s… pic.twitter.com/6AdRueK56Y— amrita madhukalya (@visually_kei) December 13, 2023Note: This article was originally published at 3:10 pm on December 13, 2023 and republished at 10:30 pm on the same date.