The security breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Punjab’s Firozpur, yesterday, has sent shockwaves across the country. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which took this lapse very seriously, is reportedly suspecting Punjab police of foul play in this regard. MHA is of the view that this speaks a lot about flagrant violation of VIP security protocol and throwing the elaborate security into the wind. The very fact that Punjab Police failed to follow the ‘Blue Book’ and had not prepared a contingency route for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, despite having intelligence inputs about protesters, reveals some strong `political motive’ behind the exntire exercise.
MHA is of the view that the security scare is not just shocking but leaves behind numerous questions while bringing the role of state police and state government under the cloud. Probably, for the first time, the Prime Minister remained stranded on the flyover for over 15-20 minutes and was eventually forced to retreat to Delhi.
Another pertinent point is that the Prime Minister’s road or air route is secret and known only to SPG & state police. The highest officials of the police force plan and sanitize the route but how come protestors got a whiff of this route.
According to top Govt sources, the information was probably leaked to farmer groups which led to chaos. Punjab cops are understood to have acted in connivance with the farmers in blocking PM Modi’s convoy.
MHA asked a report from Punjab
The MHA taking cognisance of this serious security lapse has sought a detailed report from the state government. The State Government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action.
Union Home Minister, Amit Shah in a tweet has said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked for a report from the Punjab Government on the security breach during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab today.
In his tweet, the Union Home Minister said, “The Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a detailed report on today’s security breach in Punjab. Such dereliction of security procedures in the Prime Minister’s visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed.”
BJP President JP Nadda also highlighted the negligence & arrogance of Congress’s government in Punjab. He claimed that Chief Minister Channi didn’t even turn up on the phone to address or solve the issue.
According to the ministry, on Wednesday morning the Prime Minister, Modi landed at Bathinda from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the Prime Minister waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out.
Special Protection Group’s (SPG) Blue Book lays down security guidelines for the protection of the Prime Minister. As per the Blue Book, the state police have to prepare a contingency route for the protectee in case of any adverse situation like the one that happened in Punjab during PM’s visit.
When the weather did not improve, it was decided that PM would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. He proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police.
Around 30 kms away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the Prime Minister’s convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protestors. The Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister’s schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to the Punjab Government. As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready.
Also in view of the contingency plan the Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road , which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport.
