Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Friday said the National Investigation Agency investigate how a white substance, believed to be an explosive, was found inside the Assembly, ANI reported. The Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister had called for a high-level meeting to review security a day after the discovery.

Meanwhile, state police arrested a student on Friday for allegedly threatening to “blow up the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on August 15”, ANI reported. The police have seized his cellphone.

A packet containing around 60 gm of the white powder was found under the seat of Samajwadi MLA Manoj Pandey. Security was heightened on the Assembly premises.

The chief minister on Friday said the explosive was found to be Pentaerythrivol Tetranitrate, ANI reported. “I suggest that everybody present in the Assembly should be investigated by the police and that the NIA should investigate into the matter,” Adityanath said in the Assembly.

The chief minister said everyone should be cautious in matters relating to security. “Police verification needs to be done for workers in Assembly,” he added. The chief minister said security must be strengthened following this incident as it could have been a “terror conspiracy”.

Adityanath also expressed displeasure over the absence of Quick Response Teams at the country’s largest Assembly. UP Assembly Speaker Hridaya Narain Dixit said provincial armed constabulary and Quick Response Teams will be deployed at the Assembly. “There will also be a full body scanner at every gate,” the speaker added.

Pentaerythrivol Trinitrate, one of the most powerful explosives, can easily pass metal detectors due to its plastic nature.

The Assembly session began on Tuesday when the Adityanath government presented its maiden budget.

Political reactions

The Opposition questioned the law and order situation in the state. “I have never seen a government failing this soon,” Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said. “If explosives can be found under seat of an Opposition leader, you can imagine the condition of law and order in Uttar Pradesh.”

“If this is the state of affairs inside the Assembly, then you can understand the situation of law and order in UP,” Samajwadi Party leader Rajendra Chaudhary told NDTV.