Opposition lawmakers suspended from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over this week and last took out a protest march Thursday morning from the old Parliament building to Vijay Chowk in central Delhi – about a kilometre apart – carrying a large “Save Democracy” banner, and placards “Opposition MPs Suspended! Is This The End of Democracy?” and “Parliament Caged, Democracy Expelled!”

The protest comes amid a bitter row between some of the opposition and the ruling BJP over the expulsion of more than 140 MPs for “unruly conduct”, referring to loud and persistent demands the government answer for the security breach in Parliament last week. The breach was on the 22nd anniversary of a terror attack on the old building, in which nine people were killed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were called on to make formal statements but declined, citing national security concerns. They did, though, speak to the media.

At today’s protest was Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP – which yesterday passed three new criminal laws after most of the opposition was ejected – of not having faith in democracy.

READ | Criminal Bills Passed In Lok Sabha With Most Opposition MPs Suspended

“We wanted to raise Parliament security breach. We are repeatedly requesting Lok Sabha Speaker, Rajya Sabha Chairman to allow us to speak on security breach,” Mr Kharge also told reporters.

“PM Modi, Home Minister should have spoken in the House on security breach… (but) PM spoke elsewhere and did not turn up in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha,” the veteran Congress leader said.

The government has refused to discuss the breach, except to say it is being investigated. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, whose office is responsible for security, has said the full report will be available to opposition MPs, but they are insistent either Mr Modi or Mr Shah address Parliament on this issue.

The Prime Minister spoke to a newspaper this week in what were his first public comments.

READ | “Very Serious, We Need To Know Who’s Behind This”: PM On Parliament Breach

Since the protests began 143 opposition MPs have been suspended from what Parliament’s final full sitting before next year’s general election. Their strength is now less than a third of what it was.

The confrontation over the security breach and the expulsions have been added to by another over Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee’s mocking of Rajya Sabha Chair Jagdeep Dhankhar.

READ | PM Did It Too, Says Trinamool MP, Defending Jagdeep Dhankhar Mimicry

Mr Banerjee has apologised but the BJP has pounced to up its attacks on the protesting MPs, accusing them of disrespect towards Mr Dhankhar, who is also Vice President of India.

READ | “Entire Modi Ecosystem Galvanised On So-Called Mimicry Non-Issue”: Congress

The Congress has responded by declaring the “entire Modi ecosystem” had been activated to spotlight Mr Banerjee’s actions while the BJP’s Prathap Simha, whose office issued visitor passes to the Parliament intruders remains a MP and has not been questioned so far.

READ | BJP MP Who Facilitated Intruders’ Entry Not Questioned Yet: Congress

Meanwhile, Mr Kharge – one of a handful of opposition MPs not yet suspended – also told reporters that members of the INDIA bloc will stage a second protest at the Jantar Mantar n Friday.

Access to the Parliament complex – a particularly high-profile issue after last week’s security breach – will now be guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force, or CISF, the government said in a notification issued Wednesday.

The CISF will displace Delhi Police, which will continue to protect the exterior perimeter – as the agency in charge, and will take over all related responsibilities, including frisking entrants.

Security within the complex will continue to be the responsibility of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

The change will be enforced after a detailed security survey of Parliament, interior and exterior, that was ordered by the Home Ministry, and follows a security breach last week.

According to the CISF website, the force provides “integrated security cover to sensitive public sector undertakings”. At present it guards over 350 such locations, including airports and nuclear facilities.

On December 13 two men gained access to the Lok Sabha’s visitor gallery via passes issued by a BJP MP’s office, and popped yellow smoke canisters inside the chamber, triggering a massive security scare. These were slipped past Delhi Police’s physical checks in cavities cut into custom-made shoes.

Two others – a man and a woman – opened red and yellow smoke cans outside the complex.

All four have been arrested and are being interrogated by Delhi Police. Two others, including the alleged mastermind, are also in custody, but the entire incident has led to a massive political row, with the opposition demanding answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.

Hours after the security scare, the government had announced tightening of protocols for entry into the Parliament complex, barring visitors and non-essential staff. Separate entrances were allotted for MPs and their staff members, while press (temporarily banned) were given a third gate.

Visitors, when allowed again, must enter from a fourth gate.

In addition, the visitors’ gallery will be encased in glass to stop people from jumping into the House chamber, and body scan machines – similar to those in airports – will also be installed.

A close aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, BJP MP and former chief of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), who came under fire for sexual harassment allegations, was today elected the new president of the wrestling body. 

Sanjay Singh won 40 out of 47 votes in a sweeping victory over Anita Sheoran, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist who was backed by top wrestlers who had taken to the streets earlier this over sexual harassment allegations against Mr Singh, a six-time MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj who has led the wrestling body for 12 years.

Sanjay Singh has earlier served as vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh wrestling body. He was part of the WFI’s last executive council and its joint secretary since 2019.

In another significant development, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, who was in the race for the vice-president post, lost the election.

Besides the top post of president, election were held to fill up posts for a senior vice-president, four vice-presidents, a secretary general, a treasurer, two joint secretaries and five executive members.

Ace wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, who led the agitation against Mr Singh, had been promised that none of his family members or aides will be allowed to contest the elections. So, Brij Bhushan’s son Prateek and son-in-law Vishal Singh did not enter the race, but his aide Sanjay Singh’s nomination was cleared.

Sanjay Singh and his associates had earlier said they had the support of wrestling federations from most states. The wrestling fraternity, he had said, knows who worked for the betterment of sports and will keep it in mind while casting their vote. “I am winning his election,” he told NDTV earlier.

The process for the WFI election began in July, but court cases kept delaying it. This led to the international wrestling body suspending WFI. The Supreme Court recently set aside a stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, clearing the decks for the polls.