New Delhi: Purported photos of Lalit Jha, alleged mastermind of the parliament security breach, with a Trinamool Congress leader have become the latest flashpoint between the party and the BJP. While the BJP has accused the Trinamool and the whole of INDIA bloc of being complicit in the breach, the Trinamool has pointed out that it is BJP's Mysuru MP wo has been accused of being instrumental in issuing a pass to the two intruders.
Mysuru MP Prathap Simha has been in the eye of the storm since yesterday after it was found that his office has put in the request for visitor's passes for Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan, who had smuggled in smoke bombs to parliament's visitors' gallery.
They had activated the bombs in the middle of the proceedings, one of them jumping off the gallery onto the Lok Sabha floor – before being overpowered by the MPs and the securitymen.
The alleged mastermind was Lalit Jha, a teacher from Bengal, who is now on the run.
Today, Bengal BJP chief Dr Sukanto Majumdar posted a photo of Lalit Jha on X, formerly Twitter, with senior Trinamool leader Tapas Roy. The caption read, "Lalit Jha, the mastermind of the attack on our Temple of Democracy, had been in close association with TMC's Tapas Roy for a long time... Isn't this proof enough for investigation into the connivance of the leader?"
It was picked by the BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya, who alleged that "So far, people involved in the entire episode have been found to have links with the Congress, CPI(Maoist) and now the TMC".
The Trinamool hit back, alleging that the BJP's "internal failings led to this unprecedented breach of Parliament's security".
Yesterday, investigators said Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan had managed to secure visitors' passes by request from Prathap Simha's office.
Mr Simha – a 42-year-old former journalist -- has denied any connection with the accused, apart from asking the Lok Sabha Secretariat -- which is supposed to screen visitors -- to issue passes.
The INDIA bloc parties have demanded that Mr Simha be questioned, declaring the security breach as a terrorist act.
At least one of the men who breached security today is linked to his constituency. Manoranjan D, 35, is a Bachelor of Engineering graduate from Mysore Vivekanand University in Bengaluru and his father stays in Mysore's Vijaynagar.