New Delhi: Taking note of the serious security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab, the Union Home Ministry on Wednesday sought a detailed report from the state government.
The Home Ministry has asked the Punjab government to fix the responsibility of this lapse and take strict action.
The Home Ministry said that Prime Minister Modi’s schedule and travel plan had been communicated to the Punjab government in advance: “As per the procedure, they will have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keeping a contingency plan ready. “
In view of the contingency plan, the Home Ministry said that the Punjab government has also to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were apparently not deployed.
Highlighting the security breach, the Ministry of Home Affairs said: “This morning the PM reached Bathinda, from where he was to take a helicopter to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala. The PM waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear due to rain and poor visibility.
“When the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Meritorious Memorial by road, which would take more than 2 hours. He proceeded to travel by road after DGP Punjab Police confirmed the necessary security arrangements.
The Home Ministry further said that when the Prime Minister’s convoy reached a flyover, about 30 km from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, it was found that some protesters had blocked the road.
“PM was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. The Home Ministry said that this was a big lapse in the security of the PM.
“Following this security lapse, it was decided to go back to Bathinda airport,” the ministry said.
To make matters worse, CM Channi refused to speak on the phone or resolve it.
The tactics used by the Congress government in Punjab will hurt anyone who believes in democratic principles.— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) 5 January 2022
BJP and Congress in war of words
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda also expressed displeasure over the security breach in Prime Minister Modi’s convoy near Hussainiwala in Punjab’s Ferozepur district and targeted the ruling Congress in the state.
“Fearing a crushing defeat at the hands of the voters, the Congress government of Punjab did everything possible to foil the programs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji in the state,” he tweeted.
Nadda said, ‘What is very worrying is that as far as the PM is concerned, this incident was also a big security lapse. The protesters were allowed to go in the way of the Prime Minister, while the CS and DGP of Punjab assured the SPG that the way was clear. Said further.
The BJP chief also said that Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi refused to speak on the phone or call to sort it out.
Nadda said, “It is sad that the PM’s visit got interrupted to launch development projects worth thousands of crores for Punjab. But we will not allow this kind of poor mentality to hinder the progress of Punjab and will continue our efforts for the development of Punjab.
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7. After the farmers’ movement, the Modi government completely ignored these promises.8. Finally, the reason for canceling the rally is that there was no crowd to hear Modi ji.
Stop the blame game on BJP’s anti-farmer attitude and introspect.
Hold rallies but listen to farmers first! https://t.co/kScLtNq3gg
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) 5 January 2022
Responding to Nadda, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the BJP canceled the rally as there was no crowd to hear PM Modi.
“10,000 security personnel were deployed for PM’s rally, all arrangements were made in collaboration with SPG and other agencies, route was also made for all buses of BJP workers from Haryana/Rajasthan. PM to Hussainiwala Decided to take a road trip. It was not part of my original itinerary to travel by road,” Surjewala tweeted.
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