Breach in PMs Punjab Rally; Centre seeks report from state

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• Jan 6, 2022 | Deleted

Digital Desk: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked for a detailed report from the Congress-ruled Punjab government regarding a breach in security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab on Wednesday. 

MHA, in the statement, questioned the state government about how the PM's cavalcade was stranded on a flyover for over 15-20 minutes due to a protest as it was informed earlier to the state police about PM Modi's travel plans.

"The Punjab Government was informed well in advance of the Prime Minister's schedule and travel plans. Therefore, they must make the required provisions for logistics, security, and a contingency plan, as per the procedure. Furthermore, in light of the contingency plan, the Punjab government must deploy additional security to secure any road movement, which was evidently not done." the MHA said in a statement.

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"In light of this major security lapse, the Ministry of Home Affairs has requested a full report from the state government. The state government has also been asked to determine who is to blame for the failure and to take strict action against them." the statement continued.

However, Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi refuting all the allegations, said that PM Modi was to travel by helicopter to address a rally at Firozpur, but the PM's plan was switched at the last minute to travel by road.

CM Channi said, "There has been no breach of security. Last night, I was late as I was coordinating the security arrangements for his gathering. The Prime Minister's travel arrangements were made at the last minute; he was originally scheduled to fly by helicopter."

On Wednesday, the PM arrived in Bathinda and planned to travel by helicopter to the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala. However, the PM waited for nearly 20 minutes due to bad weather and bad visibility, said MHA.

"Due to the bad weather, PM Modi decided to go by road to the National Martyrs Memorial, which would take more than two hours. So, after receiving approval from the DGP Punjab Police of the requisite security measures, he proceeded to go by road. 

When the PM's convoy reached a flyover around 30 kilometers away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, it was discovered that several protestors had blocked the road. So, for 15-20 minutes, the PM got trapped on a flyover. This was a severe failure in PM security." the MHA statement claimed.

Further, the statement claimed that after a beach in the security by the state government, PM Modi decided to head back to Bathinda airport.

Meanwhile, President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Jagat Prakash Nadda slamming the Congress-led Punjab government, stated that due to a breach in security, the launch of a developmental project worth of crores has been disrupted. 

However, we will not allow such a cheap mentality to stifle Punjab's progress.

Nadda Tweeted, "It is sad that the PM's visit to launch development projects worth thousands of crores for Punjab was disrupted. But we will not let such cheap mentality hinder progress of Punjab and will continue the effort for the development of Punjab."

In another tweet, he wrote, "A large number of buses were stranded because of the high-handedness of the police & connivance with protestors. To make matters worse, CM Channi refused to get on the phone to either address the matter or solve it. The tactics used by the Congress government in Punjab would pain anyone who believes in democratic principles."