Indian lawmaker in trouble for recording Facebook Live video inside the Parliament

An Indian politician is in the midst of a controversy for shooting a Facebook Live video that shows him entering the country's Parliament in New Delhi, revealing the security measures in place.

While the Member of Parliament (MP), Bhagwant Mann, has said that he shot the video to give his electorate a glimpse of the Parliament's proceedings, his critics from opposition parties have described it as a security breach. The uproar resulted in the Parliamentary proceedings being adjourned.

Mann, a comedian-turned-MP from the district of Sangrur in the northern state of Punjab, shot the video on his phone on July 21. It shows him entering the Parliament in his car and crossing several security check posts.

He explains that his car is registered with the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Indian parliament) and has a sensor installed which identifies the car at one of the gates, and announces the name and number of the car. "The security is very strict, and should be too, because it is a question of the country after all," Mann says at one point.

He then walks inside the Parliament House and explains the proceedings of the zero hour, including a lucky draw that determines which of the MPs get to ask questions on that particular day. At one point, someone asks him if he's recording a video. "No, it's going live," Mann replies. A security official asks Mann not to take photographs, and he agrees to maintain confidentiality. "I have tried to show you how a democracy works," Mann says at the end of the video.

The Indian Parliament is one of the most secure buildings in the country, and was attacked by terrorists in 2001. Opposition parties have already moved privileged motions against Mann. Parliamentary Affairs minister Sumitra Mahajan has asked for a report from Parliament security on the matter and asked him for an explanation.

Mann has defended himself by arguing that he was trying to demonstrate how the Parliament functioned, especially how the questions for the Zero Hour session were selected through a lucky draw. "Is it wrong to show to public how their issues are raised in the Parliament? They have elected us and they have a right to know all this," Mann said.

"Google Earth shows the approach to Parliament on its website). It’s a digital world. I don’t think I have done anything that threatens the security of the Parliament,” Mann added. Meanwhile, he has put up another Facebook Live video explaining his stance.

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