Parliament Security Lapse: Rahul Gandhi says breach "direct fallout of inflation, unemployment"; BJP terms comments "immature"

New Delhi [India], December 16 (ANI): Three days following the security breach in the Parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attributed the incident to 'unemployment' and 'inflation,' linking it to the policies of the BJP-led Centre.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi's allegations, BJP leader and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri dismissed them, stating that Rahul Gandhi often comments on issues, and people find it amusing.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawala criticized Rahul Gandhi for justifying the incident based on unemployment and price rise, calling him an "immature leader".
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the Congress Lok Sabha MP said, "Why did this (security breach) happen? The main issue in the country is unemployment. Due to the policies of PM Modi, the youth of the country are not getting jobs. I believe that this incident was a direct fallout of unemployment and inflation."
On December 13, two men jumped inside the Lok Sabha from the visitor's gallery above the chamber and threw smoke cannisters inside the Parliament, triggering panic on the day India marked the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, "Rahul Gandhiji is such a young leader who keeps commenting on issues and people laugh over him. What can I say about him?"
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawala said, "...Whenever such incidents occurred earlier, petty politics was never done over them. But Rahul Gandhi -- a leader who is ever-youth but immature -- comes out and shamefully justifies what happened on 13th December by saying that this kind of incident has taken place because there is unemployment and price rise in the country. What has happened to you Rahul Gandhi?... You lost three elections and are giving such logic over an incident which had just one motive - terrorise the Parliament..."
The opposition MPs of the INDIA bloc have been demanding a word from Home Minister Amit Shah over the security lapse incident.
Earlier today, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge reiterated the demand for a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah in the House.
Hitting out at the BJP-led central government over the massive security breach, the Congress President said that the BJP leaders are not ready to let the House function.
"It is a serious issue and the government should pay attention to it. We are repeatedly saying in Parliament that the Union Home Minister should come to the House and give a statement but he does not want to come. They (BJP) are not ready to let the House function. This is not a good thing for democracy but there is no point in talking to people who do not believe in democracy," Kharge told ANI.
When asked about the allegations against the opposition for playing politics over the incident, Kharge said that the BJP's job is to abuse the Congress and get votes.
"They (BJP) seek votes by taking the name of Congress. They abused Nehru ji and Gandhi ji to get votes. Their job is to abuse us and get votes," the Congress leader said.
The security breach happened on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack. Two people--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 anti-establishment slogans before being overpowered by the MPs.
Outside it, in another incident, two protestors -- Neelam (42) and Amol (25) -- protested outside the Parliament with similar gas canisters. However, all four were sent to seven-day custody of Delhi Police Special Cell on Thursday.
The fifth accused Lalit Jha, who allegedly planned the incident, has also been arrested and Mahesh Kumawat is the sixth accused arrested in the case.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Saturday informed the Patiala House Court that the Parliament Security breach conspiracy had been going on since more than last year, and freshly arrested accused Mahesh attended all the meetings held in different cities in this regard.
The Public Prosecutor Advocate Akhand Pratap Singh, who appeared for the Special Cell of Delhi Police, further informed the court that Mahesh has been associated with the other accused for the last two years.
Police further claimed that he (Mahesh) alongwith others wanted to create anarchy in the country so that they could compel the government to meet their unjust and illegal demands.
Meanwhile, firing a fresh salvo at the BJP-led central government over the massive security breach in Parliament, senior Congress leader KC Venugopal on Saturday said it wasn't the opposition members but Delhi Police that politicised the incident after labelling it as a terror attack.
"Delhi Police called it (parliament security breach) a terror attack. It comes under the Union Home Minister, doesn't it? We (Opposition members) didn't politicise the incident, we didn't call it a terror attack. We only put forward our concerns over the glaring lapse in security from the government side," Venugopal said at the media briefing on Saturday. (ANI)