Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 5: The prime minister Narendra Modi returned to Delhi from Bathinda after cancelling the BJP rally at Ferozepur in Punjab following what the union home ministry said “a major security lapse.” Modi’s cavalcade was stranded at a flyover, about 30 kms before Hussainiwala, because the protesting farmers had blocked the roads after which he cancelled the rally and returned to Delhi via the Bathinda airport.
The union home ministry has sought a detailed report from the State government and to fix responsibility for the lapse and take strict action. Visuals showed the convoy stranded on the flyover with Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel ring-fencing the Prime Minister’s car.
The Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, however, has denied there was any security lapse while a minister in his cabinet claimed the BJP decided to cancel the rally because it was a “flop show” but was blaming on the alleged security lapse to cover its failure to attract enough crowd.
While the Congress spokesman also defended the party government led by Channi claiming that the state government had provided all logistic support despite the last minute changes in Modi’s travel plans, a senior Punjab Congress leader, Sunil Jakhar, the former state Congress chief who had hoped to be picked as the chief minister before the High Command decided in favour of Channi, also accused the party government in the state for the security lapse. The former Congress chief minister Amarinder Singh, who has since aligned with the BJP, hit out at the Channi government and said the incident showed “a complete failure of law and order in Punjab.”
According to a statement by the union ministry of home affairs, the Prime Minister, who was scheduled to lay the foundation stones for several projects before addressing a party rally at Ferozepur, had landed at Bathinda in the morning from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. “Due to rain and poor visibility, PM waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. When the weather didn’t improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. He then proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Police,” the statement said, adding, “Around 30 km away from National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the PM’s convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters. The PM was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of PM.”
The statement noted that the Prime Minister’s schedule and travel plan were communicated well in advance to the State government. “As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready. Also in view of the contingency plan, Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda airport,” it stated.
Farmers have been opposing Mr. Modi’s visit to Ferozepur. Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), one of the largest farmer outfits in Punjab, was at the forefront of the protest against his visit and its members were seen demonstrating and blocking roads at several places across the State.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs taking cognisance of this serious security lapse has sought a detailed report from the state government. State Government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action,” it added.
The Punjab Chief Minister denying any security lapse said the PM’s plan to travel by road was made at the last minute. “There has been no security lapse. I had been up late last night overseeing the security arrangements for his rally. The PM’s road plans were made at the last minute, he was earlier supposed to travel by helicopter.”
While Channi claimed that over 70,000 chairs were placed at the venue for the PM’s rally bit only 700 people turned up, his cabinet minister Rajkumar Verka said, “There were no shortcomings in the security arrangements during the PM’s visit to Punjab today. The accusations of a security breach are baseless. The truth is that BJP’s rally was a flop show. When PM got to know this, he decided to return.”
His statement came after the BJP national president JP Nadda hit out at the Punjab Chief Minister in a series of tweets and accused him of refusing to take phone calls. “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,” BJP national president JP Nadda tweeted.
He alleged that the state police was instructed to prevent people from attending the rally. “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 any one who believes in democratic principles,” he said in a series of tweets.
The Congress national spokesman Randeep Surjewala hit back for the Congress, asking the BJP chief to “stop losing cool and all sense of propriety”. He also questioned the role of the elite Special Protection Group (SPG) – which is in charge of the PM’s security – asking how and why a last-minute change of route was allowed.
“10,000 security personnel were deployed for the PM’s Rally. All arrangements were made in tandem with SPG and other agencies. A route was carved even for all buses of BJP workers from Haryana/Rajasthan. PM decided to take a road journey to Hussainiwala. It was not part of his original schedule to travel by road,” Surjewala said as he went on to list the reasons for the protests that blocked the PM.
Channi’s predecessor Captain Amarinder Singh in tune with the BJP said there was a complete failure of law and order in Punjab. “Complete failure of law and order in Punjab, CM and HM Punjab, in particular. When you cannot provide smooth passage to the Prime Minister of the country and that too just 10km from the Pakistan border, you have no right to stay in office and should quit!” he tweeted.
Jakhar too said the incident was “just not acceptable” and added that the state government “should have ensured” the Prime Minister was able to address his rally. “What has happened today is just not acceptable. It’s against Panjabiyat. A secure passage for the Prime Minister of India to address the BJP’s political rally in Ferozepur should have been ensured. That’s how democracy works,” Jakhar tweeted.
————————–