‘Unemployment, Rising Prices Behind Security Breach In Parliament’

The former Congress president said he was "100 per cent" prepared to take on PM Narendra Modi in a debate but he knew that the prime minister will not agree to it

Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said rising prices and unemployment were the reasons behind the December 13 Parliament security breach. The Congress leader was speaking to reporters after an election strategy meeting with leaders of the party’s Gujarat unit.

Gandhi said youngsters who are not able to find jobs due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies are those who breached Parliament security.

Rahul Gandhi said the breach was the eruption of an anger that had been simmering among the youth for long. “The biggest issue in the country is that of unemployment, which is boiling all over the country. The country’s youth are not getting employment due to the policies of Modi ji,” he said.

Meanwhile, Congress head Mallikarjun Kharge said the breach was a serious matter but Home Minister Amit Shah is not ready to give a statement on it in Parliament.

“The security breach is a serious issue and the government should pay attention to it. We are asking for the Home Minister’s statement in Parliament, but the Home Minister is not saying anything, neither is he giving a statement. He is speaking in TV shows, but not inside Parliament. This is not good for democracy. But there is no meaning of this to those people who do not believe in democracy,” Kharge told reporters.

On December 13, in a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, two men jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans. They were later overpowered by the MPs.

Gandhi also said in a Hindi post on X, “Where are the jobs? The youths are desperate. We have to focus on this issue and give jobs to the youth. There has definitely been a security lapse, but the reason behind it is the country’s biggest issue – unemployment.”

When asked about Amit Shah accusing the Congress of politicising the issue, Kharge said, “Home Minister Shah talks about us to seek votes and abuses Nehru ji to seek votes. This is all they do.”

K.C. Venugopal, AICC general secretary said that it was not the Congress but the BJP which was trying to get political mileage from the incident.

He said the Delhi Police, which comes under the Union Home Ministry, described it as a “terror attack” in a court. Venugopal said that those seeking answers from the government had been suspended even as the MP who facilitated the entry of the accused in Parliament was not even questioned.

Venugopal said, “The Opposition is not politicising the Parliament security issue, but the BJP and the Home Minister and Prime Minister are. The Home Minister is telling us that the issue comes under Parliament, under the Speaker. Delhi Police is under the Home Minister of India, isn’t it? Delhi Police has given an affidavit in the court that it is a terror attack. We didn’t politicise it. We didn’t make it a terror attack. We said it is a serious security lapse from the government side.”

On Wednesday, December 13, two men — Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D — jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber, even as two others — Neelam Devi and Amol Shinde released coloured smoke from canisters while shouting “tanashahi nahi chalegi” outside the Parliament premises. A fifth accused, Lalit Jha, allegedly circulated videos of the protest outside the complex on social media. All five were arrested later.