Issue of frisking of MPs could come up in emergency security meet

New Delhi: The issue of frisking of MPs could come up at an emergency meeting of the Committee on Security in Parliament Complex on Monday in the wake of the pepper spray attack in the Lok Sabha yesterday evoking outrage. A Congress member from Telangana has complained to the Speaker for initiating criminal action against expelled party lawmaker L Rajagopal, who used pepper spray in the House, and TDP member Venugopal Reddy. Ponnam Prabhakar also told PTI that he will file a complaint with Parliament street police station. [caption id=“attachment_1390851” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image.[/caption] Speaker Meira Kumar has directed that the Committee, headed by Deputy Speaker Karia Munda, discuss all security related matters. “In order to consider the events in the House on Thursday, the Speaker has directed that an emergency meeting of the Committee on Security in Parliament Complex should be called on Monday,” a Lok Sabha Secretariat release said. The Committee will be examining all security-related matters including the means to prevent bringing of dangerous and life-threatening material into the Chamber of the House by the Members of Parliament, it said. “The pros and cons about the various security measures that should be adopted will be considered in detail by the Committee”, the release said without elaborating on the mechanism to be adopted. Rajagopal attracted widespread condemnation after his use of pepper spray in the Lok Sabha to thwart introduction of the Telangana bill. The House had witnessed unprecedented ugly scenes. The Speaker has dubbed the incident as a “blot” on India’s parliamentary traditions and insisted members maintain the highest standards of decorum and uphold democratic values which have been assiduously nurtured all these six decades in the country. PTI