Bengaluru: My son should be “hanged” if he has done any wrong, says Devaraje Gowda. His son, Manoranjan (34), was one of the two detained for causing a security-related incident in the Lok Sabha Wednesday. Accompanied by one Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan jumped into the seating area for Members of Parliament, from the visitors’ gallery, and hurled what are believed to be smoke canisters before being apprehended.
The incident took place on the twenty-second anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack.
While Manoranjan is from Mysuru, Sagar is from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. Both reportedly got their visitors’ passes on the recommendation of Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha’s office.
ThePrint reached Pratap Simha for comment via phone but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru later in the day, Devaraje Gowda said his son’s actions were “condemnable”.
“Let them hang him…if he has done any injustice to society, he is not my son at all…no matter who it is, whether it is you or me we should do good for the society,” he said.
He added, “I don’t know how he got passes but we are all supporters of Pratap Simha. We are very close to each other so I am not sure if he secured a pass through him or any other way…I don’t have any other details.”
Devaraje Gowda also said that all his son ever did or intended to do was good for the society. Manoranjan was not associated with any party but read many books, including those of English authors, he added. “I don’t know if he has read too much or if the books he read flipped him.”
Reacting to the incident, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah termed the incident “shocking and disturbing”.
“Attack on the Parliament building is shocking and disturbing and I condemn this act of violence. It is a relief that all Members of Parliament are safe. Despite the high security, the occurrence of such an incident is indeed a shocking development. It is clear that this is a lapse in the security system,” he said in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon.
Siddaramaiah added that the 2001 attack occurred when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was in power. “This raises several questions about the country’s security,” he said.
The Congress leader added, “Reports are emerging that the youths who attacked the Parliament building today were given passes by Pratap Simha, the MP from Mysuru. If these reports are true, then it implies that these youths might have been known to the MP. If they were not acquaintances, then how were passes issued to strangers? It should be noted that even inadvertent acts of negligence are also punishable under the law.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)