Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi today dialled Congress chief Sonia Gandhi amid the huge controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security lapse. The Congress has been enmeshed in a major political face-off with the BJP over the incident which took place yesterday.
The BJP has accused the Congress of engineering the event along with the protesting farmers and the state police.
Farmers who blocked the road in Punjab leading to a hold-up of PM Modi's convoy yesterday and causing a major security scare, said they had no idea that he would be passing that way. Though informed by the police after they started their roadblock, they said they did not believe them. PM Modi, they said, should have just "sent someone and asked us to move".
"We thought the police were trying to remove us from the road. There is a helipad built for the PM that side so why would he come by the road? The police were trying to trick us, we thought," said Baldev Zira, one of the protesters, standing on the Ground Zero on the Moga-Ferozepur highway.
Yesterday, while on way to address a political rally in Ferozepur, PM Modi was stuck on a flyover in Punjab's Bathinda for around 20 minutes. Then security lapse has caused a major political conflagration between the BJP and the state's ruling Congress and the matter reached the Supreme Court today. The Punjab government has ordered an inquiry into it.
Here are the Highlights on PM Modi's Security Breach:
"If we cannot ensure safety of institutions like that of the prime minister, it would be difficult to prevent disintegration of the country's democratic institutions," Rajnath Singh said addressing the BJP's concluding Vijay Sankalp rally in Uttarkashi.
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!
- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) January 5, 2022
PM Narendra Modi Security Breach: PM's First-Hand Account Of Security Breach In Meeting With PresidentAfter Prime Minister Narendra Modi was stuck on a Punjab highway for 20 minutes because of protesters in a massive security breach on Wednesday, President Ramnath Kovind has expressed concern, say government sources.
For PM's Long Life - BJP Leaders Hold Prayers After Punjab Security LapseMadhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan prayed for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's long life at a Bhopal temple today, a day after the Prime Minister's convoy was stuck on a flyover in Punjab for 20 minutes in a major security lapse.
President Ram Nath Kovind met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today and received from him a first-hand account of the security breach in his convoy in Punjab yesterday. The President expressed his concerns about the serious lapse. pic.twitter.com/lzvAuriuGb
- President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 6, 2022
PM Modi Security Breach: On PM Security Breach, Punjab Probe Panel; Supreme Court Hearing TomorrowThe row over security lapses surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab has reached the Supreme Court, with the matter likely to be heard tomorrow. Meanwhile, the state has set up a team to investigate and file a report in three days.
Punjab, PM Modi's Security Lapse: After PM Narendra Modi's Security Breach, Questions Over Rules "Blue Book"After Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent 20 minutes on a Punjab highway blocked by protesting farmers in a massive security breach, several questions have emerged around the "Blue Book" manual of the Special Protection Group (SPG).
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday expressed concern over the breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security during his visit to Punjab.
The Punjab government - under fire from the BJP with an election due in less than two months - has formed a two-member panel. Justice Mehtab Gill, a retired judge, and Anurag Verma, Principal Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs and Justice, will submit a report within three days.
The Supreme Court has been asked to hold the Punjab Chief Secretary and the Director-General of Police responsible and suspend them pending departmental action. "It has to be ensured this doesn't happen again," the petitioner said in his plea.
Terming the controversy over the security of the Prime Minister as "unfortunate", former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Thursday said that at no point there should be any complacency when it comes to protecting the highest executive office of India.
"It is very unfortunate that there is a controversy over the security of the Prime Minister. At no point should we be complacent when it comes to protecting the highest executive office of India. We should learn from the past," Mr Gowda said in a tweet.
It is very unfortunate that there is a controversy over the security of the Prime Minister. At no point should we be complacent when it comes to protecting the highest executive office of India. We should learn from the past.
- H D Devegowda (@H_D_Devegowda) January 6, 2022
The Punjab government on Thursday constituted a two-member high-level committee to conduct a thorough probe into the "lapses" that occurred during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ferozepur, an official spokesperson said.
The committee comprises Justice (Retd.) Mehtab Singh Gill and Principal Secretary, Home Affairs and Justice, Anurag Verma.
