Who is Pratap Simha, BJP MP whose pass used by men who breached security in Parliament?

In a major security breach, two persons on Wednesday jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery. They also released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by MPs. The incident happened during Zero Hour. Incidentally, it comes a day before the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack.

The two persons have been identified as Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan. They had come to the visitor's gallery as a guest of BJP MP from Mysuru, Pratap Simha. But who is he? Simha is a Member of Parliament and represents Mysore-Kodagu (Lok Sabha constituency) of Karnataka. He was also a member of the 16th Lok Sabha. The 42-year-old is a former journalist and is well-known for a series of columns. He is the former president of Yuva Morcha BJP, Karnataka. He won the Mysore Lok Sabha seat in 2019 with a margin of 1.39 Lakh votes.

As a politician and an MP, Simha came to be known for his staunch stances in the promotion of Hindutva. His tenure as an MP has been marked by several controversies. He expressed his desire to contest from the Udupi Chikmagalur constituency in the 2014 general election. However, he was asked to contest from Mysore. Then a journalist with Kannada Prabha, Simha resigned in April 2014 before beginning his electoral campaign.

READ | BJP's Vishnu Deo Sai takes oath as 4th CM of Chhattisgarh