Srinivas Biwi insists his tweet was not a joke about the security lapse
New Delhi:
A breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security in Punjab triggered a major political storm today, with the BJP accusing the Congress government of the state of engineering a situation that has harmed him.
The Congress responded with a few quips, among them the controversial “How’s the josh” tweet, which drew a sharp reaction from Union minister and senior BJP leader Smriti Irani.
“Modi ji, how is the josh?” The post was posted by Youth Congress National President Srinivas Biwi citing a popular dialogue from the blockbuster movie “Uri: The Surgical Strike”.
“What angers people like us the most is that when the security of the Prime Minister of India was breached, the Congress leaders jumped with joy and asked him how he was feeling,” Irani told reporters today.
“The prime minister liberally – reported this in the media – felt “coming back alive” on his way back,” Irani said.
“I want to tell the Congress establishment that Modi became the Prime Minister of India with the support of the people of India and he went to Punjab today to dedicate projects worth 42,000 crores to the people of Punjab. When you don’t answer on the issues. Of development, this is the depth to which you will fall,” Ms. Irani said.
However, Srinivas insisted that his tweet, posted minutes before the news broke in the national media, was not a joke about the security lapse. He told NDTV, “When I tweeted at 2.37 pm, all news channels were running news about empty chairs at PM’s rally… I was tweeting about this… not the alleged security lapse. “
Dear Indian Media,
I tweeted today at 2.37 pm when news channels were flooded with news of empty chairs,
Please ask yourself, when did you first broadcast the news of a security lapse on TV? pic.twitter.com/wTrvX9gxdf
— srinivasi wife (@srinivasiyc) 5 January 2022
The Congress has alleged that the Prime Minister decided not to attend the rally in Ferozepur, where he was going, as it was not attended.
On his way to the rally venue, PM Modi was stranded on a flyover in Punjab’s Bathinda for nearly 20 minutes as protesting farmers blocked a road ahead. Scenes from the scene showed his convoy being stranded, with Special Protection Group personnel forming a ring around the vehicle carrying him.
The prime minister was forced to return, without attending a mega rally in Ferozepur, weeks ahead of the state elections.
According to ANI, PM Modi told the Bhatinda airport officials: “Apne CM ko thanks kehna, ki mein Bhatinda airport tak zinda laut paaya (Thank your Chief Minister that I could make it alive to the Bathinda airport).”
Hitting out at the Congress, Ms Irani said, “Those in Congress who hate Modi tried to jeopardize the PM’s security today. Was the security breach deliberately false? Those who compromised the PM’s security Who put him there? Who put him so close to PM’s car?”
He said, “Never before in the history of our country has any state government deliberately created a scenario where the Prime Minister of the country is harmed.”
BJP president JP Nadda accused the state police of cooperating with the protesters to “instigate the crisis”. “State Police was directed to stop people from attending the rally… CM Channi refused to address the matter over phone or resolve it,” Mr Nadda had tweeted.
However, Congress has denied these allegations.
Senior party leader Randeep Surjewala questioned, “Why are the PMO, BJP ministers or PM not saying this? Was the PM’s convoy attacked? Was there any Naxal or terrorist there.”
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