Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Bhagwant Mann live-streamed Parliament video on Facebook
Highlights
- Bhagwant Mann, MP from Punjab, filmed his arrival in Parliament
- Video, shared on Facebook, violates security precautions, say other MPs
- Lok Sabha Speaker says there are also complaints of Mann being drunk
Political parties today united to demand action against Bhagwant Mann, a lawmaker from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), of severely compromising the security of parliament for filming his drive into the building with a running commentary of the security checks he cleared.
Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:
Mr Mann, 42, who represents Punjab in the Lok Sabha, has given a letter of what he described as "unconditional apology" to Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan and has offered to make a similar statement in parliament.
"An apology is not enough, since all party members are upset," said Ms Mahajan, adding that a committee may be formed to investigate Mr Mann.
Ms Mahajan said she is also looking into complaints of Mr Mann being drunk at parliament, a charge he denied to reporters today. A written complaint has been filed by Harinder Singh Khalsa, suspended by the Aam Aadmi Party a year ago for indiscipline, who is allotted the seat next to Mr Mann in parliament.
Ms Mahajan said other MPs have also complained that Mr Mann reeks of alcohol.
There were angry disruptions in parliament today over Mr Mann's video gimmick. Yesterday, he live-streamed his arrival in parliament on Facebook yesterday and then posted a 12-minute video of his experience. The video has now been taken down.
The areas he filmed included the gate through which a carload of terrorists drove up to the main building in 2001. Nine people were killed in addition to the five terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Since then, strict rules determine what parts of parliament can be filmed by the press or others.
Mr Mann said he wanted to give his constituency a first-hand experience of how parliament functions, and what exactly he does there as its representative.
"I'll today show you something you would not have seen earlier," Mr Mann says, introducing the video.
His film includes access to the room where questions are selected for Zero Hour which starts the proceedings every morning. A security guard urges him not to film the area.
The campaign for punishing Mr Mann is being led by representatives of the BJP and the Akali Dal, who co-govern Punjab, which votes in the next few months. With Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal campaigning aggressively for AAP, the party's popularity in the state has surged.
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