Union minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday slammed Punjab’s Congress government for failing to provide a safe passage to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cavalcade during his visit to the state on January 5, citing media reports indicating it was aware of the protesters gathered along the route.
“Why did the DGP (director general police) in Punjab give an all-clear in terms of the safety of the route that was to be taken by the Prime Minister?”
Modi was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes on his way from Bathinda to Ferozepur on January 5 due to a blockade by protesters. The security breach sparked a war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress government in Punjab. Both the Union and Punjab governments later set up their inquiry panels to probe the incident.
The reports claimed Punjab police personnel briefed their seniors and the state administration about the presence of protesters along the route that Modi’s cavalcade was to take during his visit.
Irani cited the reports and added it was “disconcerting” that Punjab Police officials in it have highlighted how they continuously engaged with the Congress government and administration in Punjab to bring to light the threat to the security of the Prime Minister and his entourage.
“The question is who in the Punjab Congress-led government continued to deliberately ignore these threats to the Prime Minister’s security?” she asked at a press conference.
She slammed Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi for briefing Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra about the breach. “Priyanka Gandhi said she was briefed by the Punjab chief minister about the Prime Minister’s security breach. The question is what security clearance does a citizen have that the chief minister is keeping her apprised about the Prime Minister‘s security. The details should be given only to the security agencies… why is it being given to a private citizen?”
There was no immediate response from Congress or the Punjab government.