Karnataka - Bangalore   

Law & Order

Senior police officials feel that legislators should be cautious while issuing passes to the public to enter the Vidhana Soudha, writes K.V. Subramanya

It was a shocking incident

THE CHINKS in the security at the Vidhana Soudha has again been exposed with the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists on Thursday entering the visitors' gallery of the Legislative Assembly and throwing pamphlets to protest against a Minister taking oath of office in English.

The incident is shocking as the security to the Vidhana Soudha is tight during the legislature session; visitors are checked at several points before being allowed inside the building.

Though the police claim that security at the Vidhana Soudha and the adjoining buildings has been tightened after the terrorist attack on Parliament House in December 2001, there have been instances of people trespassing into these buildings.

A few months ago, for instance, a group of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists barged into the Legislators' Home, next to the Vidhana Soudha, and daubed black paint on the then Belgaum Mayor Panduranga More.

Referring to Thursday's incident, a senior police official said they had taken steps to ensure that such incidents did not recur. As the police are not allowed inside the Assembly premises, the marshal had been alerted that there was a possibility of some people indulging in such an act. But the marshal apparently did not take our advice seriously. Had the marshal checked all the visitors thoroughly, such an incident would not have taken place, the officer said.

According to official sources, enquiries made by the Speaker's secretariat had revealed that the vedike activists were issued passes to enter the visitors' gallery by Belur MLA H.K. Kumaraswamy, who was sworn in Minister on Wednesday.

Senior police officials feel that legislators should be cautious while issuing passes to the public to enter the Vidhana Soudha.

In view of intelligence reports, the police had suggested to the Government the need for having the Parliament House kind of security model for the Vidhana Soudha and installation of a watchtower, among other measures. Though nearly a year has passed since these recommendations were made, several of these suggestions were yet to be implemented, the sources said. In the wake of the terrorist attack on Parliament House, the Government had announced that security would be tightened at the Vidhana Soudha. Subsequently, the then Additional Director-General of Police (Intelligence) S.K. Banerjee and the then Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Gopal B. Hosur went to Delhi and studied the security system at Parliament House.

Along with the inputs provided by the two officials, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which was hired as a consultant to devise a security system for the Vidhana Soudha, submitted a report to the Government. According to the sources, the Government has implemented only some of the recommendations made by the CISF.

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