Sravasti Dasgupta 
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pratap Simha is in the eye of a storm after it was revealed that the parliamentarian had authorised passes for the two men who caused a security breach on Wednesday by jumping from the public gallery into the Lok Sabha hall and opening smoke canisters.
Simha is a two-term MP from Mysore-Kodagu in Karnataka, having won the Lok Sabha elections in both 2014 and 2019.
Opposition MPs have questioned why no action was taken against Simha while 14 opposition MPs were suspended on Thursday for protesting against the security breach and demanding a statement by Union home minister Amit Shah. They have also questioned why TMC MP Mahua Moitra was expelled for sharing her password on grounds of national security, but no action has been taken against Simha.
Under fire for the security breach, the Narendra Modi government has sought to list other security breaches in Parliament while asking the opposition members not to “politicise” the issue. The Union government or the BJP is yet to issue a statement on Simha.
The six people (Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, who entered the Parliamentary premises, Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde who were shouting slogans outside the Parliament, and their associates Lalit Jha and Vicky Sharma) who were allegedly involved in the incident – as a protest to highlight issues of unemployment, farmers’ unrest, and the ethnic clashes in Manipur – have all since been arrested. They are also facing charges under the draconian terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Simha, however, has yet to face any action.
Simha’s name first came up after BSP MP Danish Ali said moments after the incident on Wednesday that while he apprehended Sagar Sharma along with security staff, he discovered a pass that included an authorisation signature by Simha.
Later, Ali also tweeted a picture of the pass that bore Simha’s name.
Simha has said to parliamentary affairs ministry Pralhad Joshi that he knew Manoranjan D.’s father, reported the news agency Press Trust of India. The report also said that Manoranjan had been pursuing the BJP MP for a while to get a pass to visit the new parliament building
Manoranjan’s father Devaraj told the Indian Express that Simha is their local MP and they share a good relationship with him.
This is not the first time that Simha has courted controversy.
Former journalist who made his Hindutva leanings evident
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.
In 2015, Simha wrote another book Tipu Sultan: Swatantrya Veerana? (Tipu Sultan: Was He a Freedom Fighter?), fuelling Hindutva passions in the political campaign against the 18th-century ruler of Mysore. Each of his political interventions provided ammunition to the Hindutva workers who would mouth contested facts from his books.
Three books authored by BJP MP Pratap Simha.
Simha, who belongs to the dominant Vokkaliga community, is known as one of the most polarising public representatives that the region of Old Mysore, known for its multiculturalism, has ever seen.
Simha is not one a BJP old-timer in Karnataka, although his Hindutva leanings were quite well known. But he is seen as part of the coterie that was encouraged by Modi-Shah’s efforts to create a new, aggressive 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.
In February this year, Simha said that stray dogs should be eliminated without any compassion after a pack of dogs mauled a five-year-old in Telangana.
“There is a Supreme Court order that stray dogs cannot be killed. Leaders from our own party create problems when stray dogs are killed. Even the media takes up incidents of attacks on stray dogs. While tigers and elephants have one or two litter, dogs have nearly 10 puppies. They should be eliminated without any compassion,” he was quoted as saying to reporters.
In 2019, Simha apologised to actor Prakash Raj for making “derogatory” and “unwarranted” remarks against 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.
(With inputs from Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta)