Authorities in India’s national capital have sounded a high alert after a car belonging to Congress MP from Manipur rammed a parliament barricade on Tuesday morning.
The car, according to news reports, belongs to Congress MP Dr Thokchom Meinya. The security siren was set off after his car got stuck at the security barricade. The MP was not in the car when the incident took place.
The security personnel took to their positions as soon as the siren was set off to thwart any potential threats. This was in accordance with the standard procedure, established after the 2001 attack on the parliament.
Delhi: Security on high alert after car of an MP rammed into a barricade in Parliament premises. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/QfzNTHRGYX
— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2019
In the video being shared on social media platforms, security personnel are being seen desperately trying to take positions in anticipation of hostile situation.
The incident took place on a day when the Rajya Sabha will see the tabling of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill. Ahead of the development, curfew has been imposed in Manipur, which too has witnessed a series of protests against Bill. Authorities have also banned the mobile internet service for five days in a bid to stop the spread of protests in the state.
Earlier this month, 15-time National Award winner filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma too had returned his Padma award in protest against the Citizen Amendment Bill.
Passed in Lok Sabha on 8 January, the contentious Bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to news agency PTI, a large section of people in the northeast have opposed the Bill, saying it would nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of illegal immigrants irrespective of religion.