After offering “unconditional apology” to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for exposing Parliament security by uploading a live video on social media, Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann in a volte face on Thursday said he had made no mistake, and thus, the matter should be closed.
Mann, who had been given a deadline of Thursday, responded to the committee formed to probe the video, “Many TV channels report from the parliament complex and if there is no violation by them, why have I been singled out?”
In a five-page written reply to the nine-member committee led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kirit Somaiya, the Sangrur MP stated that he had made no mistake, while citing some of the earlier incidents to buttress his claims.
Interestingly, Mann had earlier, in an apologia addressed to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, offered “unconditional apology”, saying his intention was not to expose the Parliament security but to inform his voters’ about the procedure involved in raising a question during ‘Zero Hour’.
A committee of nine MPs reviewed the 12-minute film posted by Mr. Mann on Facebook, which showed his ride through layers of security to reach the parliament building.
The committee also met with officers in charge of security in parliament.
Mann’s attack against PM Modi and his demand to try him may worsen things. Sources said, the PM cannot be called by the committee in this regard as it comes beyond the jurisdiction of the Lok Sabha speaker and the committee constituted by her.
The 42-year-old lawmaker, who is also a popular stand-up comedian, has controversially suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi also compromised security by allowing Pakistani officers including members of its spy agency ISI to tour the Pathankot Air Force base, which was attacked by Pakistani terrorists in January.
Sources also said that Mann was dragging the Prime Minister unnecessarily into the issue.
