Some suspended LS MPs protest with placards on steps of Parliament
New Delhi (PTI): Some of the 13 suspended Lok Sabha MPs on Monday protested with placards sitting on the steps of Parliament, demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the Parliament security breach incident.
Congress MPs Mohammed Jawaid, Hibi Eden, Benny Behanan, Dean Kuriakose and CPI(M)'s S Venkatesan sat on the steps of Makar Dwar of Parliament, holding placards, protesting against the government.
Jawaid said the message they want to give through the protest was that the December 13 incident was a serious security breach and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have given a statement on it in the House and told the people of the country why this happened.
"You (BJP leaders) praised the new Parliament building, claimed that it was fully secure, it has not even been four months and during a debate intruders came in the Lok Sabha chamber, what can be a bigger breach...so either the PM or the Home Minister (Amit Shah) should make a statement in the House," the Congress MP from Kishenganj told PTI.
On the suspension of the MPs, Jawaid said, "We have seen in the four-and-a-half years, whenever someone has asked for answers from the prime minister, the home minister, Adani, suspension is a small thing, membership is being terminated, as we saw in Rahul Gandhi's case."
Several opposition MPs, while entering the Parliament building and exiting it, expressed support with the suspended legislators and clicked photographs with them.
Two people jumped from the visitors' gallery into the Lok Sabha chamber on December 13, with opposition parties, demanding a statement from Shah. Some members have also sought Shah's resignation.
The government has insisted that the security in Parliament complex is the responsibility of the Lok Sabha secretariat and it has been following the Speaker's directives. It has also cited numerous such violations in the past, accusing the opposition of politicising the issue.
Thirteen opposition MPs, including nine from the Congress and the DMK's Kanimozhi, were suspended from the Lok Sabha for the remainder of the session which is scheduled to end on December 22 for unruly conduct.
Opposition parties have slammed the suspension, noting that no action has been taken against BJP MP Prathap Simha, who facilitated the passes of two accused who carried smoke canisters with them, while their members have been suspended for raising the issue.
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11 more bodies retrieved from Arunachal accident site
Itanagar (PTI): Eleven more bodies were retrieved on Saturday from the deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district, where a mini-truck on which 22 labourers from Assam were travelling fell, an official said.
With this, 17 bodies have been recovered from the accident site, Anjaw's deputy commissioner Milo Kojin said.
He said three more bodies will be brought out on Sunday.
The operation, being conducted by a joint team of the NDRF and Army, resumed at 6 am.
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"The retrieval process was extremely difficult because of the treacherous terrain, and the gorge is very deep," Kojin said.
The operation was suspended around 4 pm due to low visibility and will be resumed on Sunday morning, he said.
"One person is still missing, and a search operation will be carried out tomorrow," he added.
The accident happened on the evening of December 8, around 40 km from Hayuliang towards Chaglagam in the district. On the evening of December 10, one survivor managed to climb out of the gorge and reach a nearby Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) labour camp, following which the authorities were alerted.
Six bodies were recovered from the gorge on Friday and handed over to their families on Saturday.
