New Delhi: After it was discovered that Pratap Simha, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had approved passes for the two men who broke security on Wednesday by leaping from the public gallery into the Lok Sabha hall and activating smoke canisters, the lawmaker is facing intense criticism.
Having won the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019, Simha is a two-term Member of Parliament from Mysore-Kodagu in Karnataka.
While 14 opposition MPs were suspended on Thursday for protesting the security breach and calling for a statement from Union home minister Amit Shah, opposition MPs have questioned why no action was taken against Simha. They have also questioned why Simha has not been prosecuted while TMC MP Mahua Moitra was dismissed for divulging her password on national security grounds.
The Narendra Modi administration has come under fire for the security lapse and has attempted to enumerate other security lapses in Parliament, urging opposition members to refrain from “politicizing” the matter. A statement on Simha has not yet been released by the BJP or the Union government.
The six individuals who were allegedly involved in the incident—which was intended to draw attention to issues of unemployment, farmer unrest, and ethnic clashes in Manipur—are Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, who broke into the Parliamentary premises, Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde, who were yelling slogans outside the Parliament, and their associates Vicky Sharma and Lalit Jha. All of them have since been taken into custody. The harsh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) terror law is another charge against them. But Simha has not yet been subjected to any action.
Simha’s name initially surfaced when BSP MP Danish Ali stated shortly after the incident on Wednesday that he found a pass with Simha’s authorization signature on it when apprehending Sagar Sharma with the help of security personnel.
Press Trust of India reported that Simha claimed to have known Manoranjan D.’s father in an interview with Pralhad Joshi, the parliamentary affairs minister. Furthermore, according to the report, Manoranjan had been pursuing the BJP MP for some time in order to obtain permission to visit the new parliament building.
They have a good relationship with Simha, their local MP, Manoranjan’s father Devaraj told the Indian Express.
Simha has cultivated controversy before. This is not the first time.
Former journalist with clear Hindutva leanings
As per Press Trust of India, Simha informed Pralhad Joshi, the parliamentary affairs ministry, that he was acquainted with the father of Manoranjan D. According to the report, Manoranjan had been vying for a pass to enter the new parliament building with the BJP MP for some time.
Their relationship with Simha, their local MP, is positive, according to Manoranjan’s father Devaraj, who spoke to the Indian Express.
Simha has cultivated controversy on previous occasions as well.
Journalist in the past who openly displayed his Hindutva sympathies
Simha, a former Kannada language journalist, is known in his region for provocative statements, especially those which directly or indirectly attack the Muslim community. Working as a journalist until 2014, when he became an MP for the first time, he had made his Hindutva leanings evident. He worked under editor Vishweswar Bhat who runs the Kannada daily Viswavani, known for its extremist Hindutva positions.
Yet, Simha shot to fame first in 2010 when his book Mining Mafia: Ivaryaaru Gottenu, Ivara Kathe Helaleenu (Mining Mafia: Who Are They? Do You Know Their Story?) became a talking point. The book sought to expose the Bellary mining mafia helmed by the Reddy brothers who were then in the BJP.
Ahead of the 2014 elections, however, he authored another book that brought him into the good books of the BJP. The book was called Narendra Modi: Yaaru Tuliyada Haadi (Narendra Modi: The Man Who Treads a Unique Path).
The book earned him a Lok Sabha ticket from the BJP, and he has since hardened his political posturing against minorities. He won from his seat again in 2019.
Simha fueled Hindutva fervor in the political campaign against the 18th-century Mysore ruler with another book, Tipu Sultan: Swatantrya Veerana? (Tipu Sultan: Was He a Freedom Fighter?), published in 2015. The Hindutva workers, who would mouth-contested facts from his books, had ammunition thanks to each of his political interventions.
As a member of the dominant Vokkaliga community, Simha is regarded as one of the most divisive public figures in the multicultural area of Old Mysore.
Despite his well-known Hindutva views, Simha is not an established member of the BJP in Karnataka. He does, however, belong to the group that Modi-Shah fostered in his attempt to forge a fresh, assertive leadership.
Recent controversies
In November 2022 Simha threatened to raze the structure on the Nanjangud Highway down with a bulldozer, as the domes on the bus stand “resembled a mosque”. The Mysuru district administration subsequently demolished two of the three domes on the newly built bus stop and retained the central dome.
In December 2022, Simha had alleged corruption to the tune of Rs 5-6 crore was involved in the appointment of the Mysore University vice-chancellor and that there were irregularities in the appointment of assistant professors. Subsequently the then BJP state government directed the Karnataka Examination Authority to conduct the assistant professor eligibility test.
After the Congress won the state elections earlier this year, Simha alleged in June that a “compromise” deal was struck by some state party leaders under both B.S. Yediyurappa and B.S. Bommai with the Congress for alleged “internal adjustment”, according to a report in the Indian Express. The Congress denied the claim.
Following the mauling of a five-year-old in Telangana by a pack of dogs in February of this year, Simha declared that stray dogs ought to be eradicated without any empathy.
“Stray dogs are protected from being killed by a Supreme Court order. When stray dogs are killed, leaders within our own party cause problems. Attacks on stray dogs are reported by the media as well. Dogs produce almost ten litters of puppies, compared to one or two for tigers and elephants. He was cited as telling reporters, “They should be eliminated without any compassion.”
Actor Prakash Raj was the target of Simha’s 2019 apology for “derogatory” and “unwarranted” comments Simha made about him on social media.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Simha had written in Kannada: “Is someone like Raj, who left his wife grieving the death of his son and ran after a dancer, worthy enough to tell Modi-Yogi??!”
The tweets came after Raj questioned Prime Minister Modi’s silence on the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh.
In February 2022, Simha was in the news during the ban on hijab imposed by the Karnataka government in government schools, asking those who wanted to wear the headscarf to “go to Pakistan”.
In September 2020, Simha was among various BJP leaders against whom at least 62 criminal cases were withdrawn under the Yediyurappa-led government.
Simha was charged in a case of overspeeding, breaking down barricades and injuring an additional superintendent of police who tried to stop him during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in December 2017. He was also accused of voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant in discharge of his duty.
Read More
LS security breach ‘mastermind’ Lalit Jha surrenders before Delhi Police
