PM Modi's Security Breach: A report has been demanded from intelligence agencies over the security lapse.
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.
PM Modi 'Troubled' Over 15 Minutes, Farmers Camped For A Year: Navjot SidhuPunjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu aimed a jibe at the BJP over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach, saying he was "troubled" only by a 15-minute wait. The farmers, he said, had to wait for more than a year to get the farm laws scrapped.
The convoy of PM Modi -- who was visiting Punjab after a two-year gap after his government scrapped the farm laws -- was stuck on a flyover in Punjab's Ferozepur yesterday as farmers blocked the highway nearby. He was forced to return without addressing a political rally in Bathinda where he was headed.
PM's Security Lapse: 3-Member Committee Formed By Home MinistryA three-member committee will probe the "serious lapses in the security arrangements" during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab on Wednesday, the Union Home Ministry said today. The lapses in PM's security "led to the exposure of the VVIP to grave security risk," the Home Ministry said in a tweet.
Visuals of the PM's motorcade stuck on a flyover in Punjab just 10 km from the venue of his scheduled rally in Ferozepur took the country by surprise with the BJP accusing the Punjab government of harbouring "murderous intent" towards the PM. The party alleged that the lapse was carefully engineered by the state in collaboration with the police and the protesting farmers.
JustIn | 3-member committee formed by Home Ministry to probe security lapses in PM's Punjab visit
On PM's Security Lapse, Sonia Gandhi Briefed By Punjab Chief MinisterPunjab 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.
"PM Should Just Have Asked Us To Move": Farmers Who Blocked Punjab RoadFarmers who blocked the road in Punjab leading to a hold-up of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy yesterday and causing a major security scare, say 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.
Officer Said "PM's On His Way, We Thought He Was Bluffing": Farmer LeaderBhartiya Kisan Union (Krantikari) chief Surjit Singh Phool on Thursday said that when the Senior Superintendent of Police Ferozepur asked them to vacate the road saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on his way to a rally by road, they thought that the officer was "bluffing".
Speaking to the reporters, Mr Phool said, "SSP Ferozepur asked us to vacate the road saying that the prime minister was going to the rally venue by road. We thought he was bluffing."
Congress can't be forgiven for PM's security breach: Rajnath Singh"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.
The Home Ministry criticised Punjab Police today morning for failing to prepare a contingency route for the PM's visit, in line with protocol. This was necessary given existing intel about protesting farmers in the area, a ministry official said. Normally the SPG remains near the PM while state police sanitise routes and check for threats.
PM Modi Security Breach LIVE Updates
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday expressed concern over the breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security during his visit to Punjab.
PM Modi Security Breach LIVE Updates
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.
PM Modi Security Breach LIVE Updates
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.
PM Modi Security Breach Controversy "Unfortunate": Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda 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.
PM Modi Security Breach LIVE Updates: Punjab Forms Panel To Probe PM Modi's Security BreachThe 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.