The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to highlight the breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security cavalcade on Wednesday to expose the law and order situation in the poll-bound border state of Punjab.
Modi who was to address the party’s rally in Ferozepur could not reach the venue due to the security breach by protesters who had blocked the road. The PM was stuck on a flyover for nearly 20 minutes, the Union home ministry said in a statement.
The BJP is set to launch an attack on the Congress government over such a serious security lapse in its poll campaigning.
BJP chief JP Nadda took to Twitter to launch a scathing attack on the Channi government. “Fearing a resounding defeat at the hands of the electorate, the Congress Government in Punjab tried all possible tricks to scuttle the PM @narendramodi Ji’s programmes in the state,” he tweeted. “What is extremely worrisome is that this incident was also a big security lapse as far as the PM is concerned. Protestors were given access to the Prime Minister’s route while the Punjab CS and DGP gave assurances to SPG that the route is clear,” he wrote.
The party also took potshots at the Congress for “not even bothering that the PM was to pay tributes to Bhagat Singh and other martyrs, and lay the foundation stone for key development works”.
Speaking to News18.com, Dushyant Gautam, BJP national general secretary and Punjab incharge, said by preventing the PM from coming to the land of gurus and martyrs, the Congress has attempted to kill democracy. “The PM was coming to give a gift of ₹4,500-crore schemes to the people of Punjab. It is the government’s failure that the PM could not reach the venue. People were waiting to hear the PM’s speech, but the way his security was breached hints at a greater conspiracy,” said Gautam.
Senior leaders in the party said the protesters stopped 3,500 buses and allegedly misbehaved with women. “They were so fearful of today’s event that they stopped buses, misbehaved with women and while they did all this, police aided them,” alleged one of the party leaders present at the rally venue.
Tarun Chugh, BJP national general secretary, took a dig at the Congress by calling the government that failed to ensure the PM’s security “a friend of Pakistan’s Imran Khan”.
With inputs from News18
Hundreds stranded as heavy snowfall lashes Kashmir 