File photo of Narendra Modi
, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, will address a rally in Mumbai on Sunday and the police have made elaborate security arrangements for it. Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh said that Mr Modi will be given seven layers of security.
"There are many forces who want to hurt Narendra Modi. Keeping all this in mind, every police station's anti- terrorism cells have been activated," Mr Singh said.
The rally, which is being held at the MMRDA Grounds, is Mr Modi's first in Mumbai after his anointment as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
Top Mumbai police officers have been visiting the site and security plans have been chalked out to make the venue impenetrable. 3,000 policemen have been deployed as part of the security arrangements and Quick Response Teams (QRT) and bomb disposal squads have been kept on stand-by. People will be frisked at railway stations and entry points. Sterile areas (Areas with no access to anyone) have been created around the podium and the grounds are being sanitised. Mr Modi will be guarded by special Gujarat Police and Mumbai Police teams as well.
The BJP is also leaving no stone unturned to make the rally a success. "The turnout could be more than 10 lakh or so. It is true that our primary aim is to win the Lok Sabha elections but we can't forget that we want to win the coming state elections also. So this rally will create a momentum," said Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar.
In order to ensure smooth travel for supporters to Mumbai, the BJP has booked 21 special long-distance trains. And Mumbai's tea vendors have been specially invited to the rally. "Somebody from the Samajwadi Party said that Mr Modi was a tea vendor and a tea vendor cannot become the Prime Minister. And Modiji had replied, '
Desh bhechne walo se chai bechne wale achche hote hain'. That created a sense of pride amongst the tea vendors of Mumbai and they contacted us and we said 'Yes, you come. We will give you a place to sit'," Maharashtra BJP president Devendra Fadnavis told NDTV.