NEW DELHI, Jan 13: the teen-ager boy who managed to breach the prime minister Narendra Modi’s heavy security and run up to him to offer a garland at Hubballi town in Karnataka, said on Friday that he was a “big fan” of Modi, who was “like god” to him and others in his family.
The 15-year old class six student Kunal Dhongadi said he managed to squeeze himself between the barricade gap on Thursday during the prime minister’s roadshow and ran to garland Modi in desperation realising that the PM’s cavalcade would move away from the spot they were standing and they would not be able to garland him.
“I had gone to garland Modi, I had heard in the news that Modi ji would come, so I had pestered (at home) and had gone there with family members. Modi ji was moving in his car, we wanted my uncle’s two-and-half year old kid dressed in RSS uniform to put a garland on him.” “But, he did not look at our side, realising that the car would move away, I myself ran with the garland squeezing in between the gap in the barricading,” Kunal Dhongadi said, adding that all those standing along the route and the garland were already checked.
“I’m a big fan of Modi….he is a good man, like a god… I’m happy that I could take the garland to him and see him from very close proximity,” he said. The boy, who was seen rushing towards Prime Minister Modi’s motorcade with a garland in hand, had managed to reach very close to him.
The Prime Minister extended his hand to accept the garland from above the car door but could not reach the boy. The Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel got hold of the garland before local police secured the boy and removed him from the scene. SPG passed on the boy’s garland to the Prime Minister who then put it inside his vehicle.
The incident happened during a road show by the Prime Minister as he was reaching the venue for inaugurating the 26th National Youth Festival. Modi was standing on the ‘running board’ of his moving car and waving at an enthusiastic crowd that lined up the route in large numbers as he headed to Railway Sports Ground from the airport, when the incident occurred.
The boy was inquired along with family members on Thursday and were later let off by the police. Kunal’s grandfather, who had accompanied him said, police inquired and did their job and left after realising it was an act of an innocent boy. “Pralhad Joshi sir (Union Minister) and other senior BJP leaders asked us to cooperate with police inquiry and assured that nothing will happen as they are aware that we are loyal BJP and Modi supporters. We too cooperated as we know it is a matter related to the PM’s security,” he said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
