Lucknow, July 14
Security was beefed up at the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha on Friday after the discovery of a powerful explosive, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today informed the House.
Making a special statement as soon as the House assembled this morning, Adityanath said on the morning of July 12, the day after the presentation of the budget, the Vidhan Sabha cleaning staff had found white powder wrapped in a piece of paper on the floor behind the designated seat of the Leader of the Opposition.
It was ascertained to be Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), a most powerful explosive.
The investigation of how the explosive reached the assembly premises, currently in session, is to be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Adityanath said.
State police later registered an FIR against some unidentified people.
Demanding strict security guidelines for the premises, he did not rule out the possibility of frisking of the elected members in the future.
“It was approximately 150 grams of powder, white in colour and even the dog squad had not detected it. It was sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory for testing. The report of the lab which came last evening confirmed that the powder was the deadly PETN and the amount was enough to blow up the House”, the chief minister said.
Strongly condemning the dastardly act of putting the lives of the 403 MLAs and 100 MLCs in danger, he said that in a way it was to an attempt to muffle the voice of the roughly 22 crores people of the state who are represented by the elected representatives.
He said he would recommend a strict security drill which will include police verification of the Vidhan Sabha staff and no permission to carry bags and mobile phones in the House even for the elected representatives.
“I will request members to carry only notebooks to the House in which they can write down their notes”, he said.
Leader of the Opposition Ram Gobind Chaudhury also condemned the discovery of explosives in the House stating that no one could be given the liberty to play with the security of the elected representatives.
Endorsing the recommendations of the chief minister, Speaker HN Dikshit facilitated the passing of an unanimous resolution advising the investigation to be done by NIA.
Meanwhile, all car passes to the Vidhan Sabha building barring the MLAs and MLCs have been cancelled with immediate effect. This includes former MLAs and ministers as well.
Now even the drivers of MLAs and MLCs would have to carry passes. No unauthorised person would be allowed to enter the Vidhan Sabha complex travelling in the car of any elected representative.
The Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha complex also includes the state secretariat.
Powerful explosive found in UP Assembly, CM Yogi orders NIA probe
