Panel probing Bhagwant Mann videography issue gets another extension

New Delhi, Aug 19 The Lok Sabha panel probing Bhagwant Mann's Parliament House videography issue has been given extension till late November.

"Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has given extension to the Committee on Conduct of Bhagwant Mann till the end of the first week of next (Winter) session," its Chairman Kirit Somaiya said today. The Winter session of Parliament which generally starts in the third week of November.

The panel was given a two-week extension earlier this month and was due to submit its report yesterday. Last week, the panel had heard security personnel deployed at the gate from where the AAP MP entered the high security zone while making the video.

The purpose behind calling these personnel was to find out if there were any loopholes in the security apparatus and what actually transpired that day when AAP MP entered the complex.

Somaiya has said earlier that the committee will submit its report in two parts--one related to the role of Mann in exposing the Parliament security and the other suggesting corrective measures.

The nine-member committee was set up to probe the incident termed by many as "serious breach" of security of the Parliament House complex.

A cross section of MPs had questioned the "improper conduct" of Mann in videographing and posting "critical footage" of Parliament House complex on social media.

In view of seriousness of the matter, the AAP MP from Sangrur has been asked by the Speaker not to attend the sittings of the House until a decision has been taken.

Besides Somaiya, the panel has two BJP members--Meenakshi Lekhi and Satyapal Singh. The others are Anandrao Adsul (Shiv Sena), B Mahtab (BJD), Ratna De (TMC), Thota Narasimham (TDP), K C Venugopal (Congress) and P Venugopal (AIADMK).

The committee was assigned to probe Mann's conduct and his act of livestreaming his journey to, and inside the Parliament, and also inquire into the serious security implications and suggest suitable remedial measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents.

A defiant Mann has maintained that he did no wrong and his intention was to make people aware of the parliamentary procedures.

PTI