New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Jagat Prakash Nadda on Wednesday blasted the Congress-led Punjab government for a major security lapse ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Ferozepur. In a series of tweets, Nadda alleged that the Punjab government tried “all possible tricks” to scuttle the prime minister’s programme “fearing a resounding defeat” in the upcoming Assembly elections.
PM Modi was scheduled to pay tributes to Bhagat Singh and other freedom fighters and lay the foundation stone for multiple development projects during his programme. Nadda said that the Congress-led government in Punjab has shown that they are “anti-development” and have “no respect for freedom fighters”. He alleged that protesters were given access to the prime minister’s route despite assurances from the Punjab chief secretary and director-general of police that the route was clear.
“To make matters worse, CM Channi refused to get on the phone to either address the matter or solve it. The tactics used by the Congress government in Punjab would pain any one who believes in democratic principles,” the BJP chief tweeted.
After Modi’s visit was cancelled at the last moment, the ministry of home affairs said in a statement that the prime minister’s convoy was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes as the road was blocked by some protestors. Modi landed at Bathinda Wednesday morning to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, it was decided that he would visit the memorial via road, a journey of more than two hours, according to MHA.
“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 statement read.
Nadda alleged that Punjab police was instructed to prevent people from attending the rally, adding that a large number of buses were stranded because of the “high-handedness of the police” and “connivance with protestors.”
“It is sad that the PM’s visit to launch development projects worth thousands of crores for Punjab was disrupted. But we will not let such cheap mentality hinder progress of Punjab and will continue the effort for the development of Punjab,” he wrote.
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