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The lower house of India’s parliament was in chaos after two unknown men breached the security and stormed the building on Wednesday which also fell on the anniversary of a deadly attack on the complex more than two decades ago.
The live broadcast video on Indian local TV, the official channel for the country’s parliament, showed a man jumping over tables and running toward the speaker’s chair as panicked lawmakers tried to subdue him.
Another man standing in the visitor’s gallery was seen spraying yellow smoke inside the building.
The parliament’s session was briefly adjourned as lawmakers made their way outside.
Two more people outside the building were seen chanting slogans as police gathered around them.
All four people have been arrested and their belongings have been confiscated, Om Birla, the speaker of parliament’s lower house, told lawmakers as parliament resumed.
Opposition lawmakers raised their concerns over the security breach.
“The issue is very serious,” said Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of India’s main opposition Congress party. “This is about how two people were able to come inside despite such elaborate security and cause a security breach.”
Another Congress lawmaker K.C. Venugopal said the incident was “extremely troubling.”
“I am glad there was no major injury or damage done to anyone,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Parliament is among the most high-security buildings of our country. Such a major security lapse is unacceptable. We demand answers from the Home Ministry and there must be a thorough review of the security arrangements in the new Parliament building.”
India’s parliament was attacked by gunmen on December 13, 2001, who killed more than a dozen people. New Delhi blamed Pakistan-linked terror groups for that attack, plunging relations further and pushing the two nuclear-armed nations to the brink of war.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the people who lost their lives in that incident earlier Wednesday.
“Today, we remember and pay heartfelt tributes to the brave security personnel martyred in the Parliament attack in 2001. Their courage and sacrifice in the face of danger will forever be etched in our nation’s memory,” he wrote on X.
Additional information from CNN
致命攻擊事件22週年之際，印度議會安全遭到破壞
週三，兩名身份不明的男子突破安全措施並襲擊了印度議會下議院，這也是二十多年前該建築群遭受致命襲擊的周年紀念日，印度議會下議院陷入混亂。
印度議會官方頻道印度當地電視台的現場直播影片顯示，一名男子跳過桌子，跑向議長的椅子，驚慌失措的議員試圖制服他。
有人看到另一名男子站在遊客畫廊裡，向建築物內噴出黃色煙霧。
議會會議短暫休會，議員們紛紛離開。
大樓外還有兩人高喊口號，警察聚集在他們周圍。
議會下議院議長 Om Birla 在議會復會時告訴議員，所有四人均已被逮捕，他們的財產已被沒收。
反對派議員對安全漏洞表示擔憂。
「這個問題非常嚴重，」印度主要反對黨國大黨領袖馬利卡瓊·哈格(Mallikarjun Kharge)表示。 “這是關於兩個人如何在如此嚴格的安全措施下進入並造成安全漏洞的故事。”
另一位國會議員 K.C. 韋努戈帕爾表示，這起事件「極其令人不安」。
「我很高興沒有對任何人造成重大傷害或損害，」他在 X（前身為 Twitter）上寫道。 「議會是我國安全性最高的建築之一。 如此重大的安全漏洞是不可接受的。
我們要求內政部給出答案，並且必須對新議會大樓的安全安排進行徹底審查。”
2001年12月13日，印度議會遭到武裝份子攻擊，造成十幾人死亡。 新德里指責與巴基斯坦有聯繫的恐怖組織實施了這次襲擊，導致兩國關係進一步惡化，並將這兩個擁有核武的國家推向戰爭邊緣。
印度總理莫迪向周三早些時候在該事件中喪生的人們表示哀悼。
「今天，我們緬懷2001年議會襲擊事件中犧牲的勇敢安全人員，並向他們致以衷心的敬意。他們在危險面前的勇氣和犧牲將永遠銘刻在我們國家的記憶中，」他在X上寫道。
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