Omkar Dattatray
Unfortunately there was a major security lapse in prime ministers security in Punjab and such a security breach is unheard of in our country. The Prime minister Narendra Modis convoy was forced to strand on a flyover because of the blockade by the protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday. The Prime minister was forced to return to Delhi without attending any rally or any event. The security breach in the prime ministers security is a very serious matter and it needs to be probed so that all facts about the security lapse will come to light. The security to the prime minister in Punjab is the sole responsibility of the state government but it failed to provide fool proof security to the visiting prime minister. It is alleged that the some India-hostile organization has asked the people of Punjab to disrupt the prime ministers rally and it has announced an award of 80 lakh for the nefarious purpose of disrupting the rally. Not only this the BJP supporters were also not allowed to assemble for the rally to be addressed by the Prime minister in the poll bound Punjab. The lap in prime ministers security has caused outrage in the country as the people of the country are concerned for the security of country's prime minister. The country has experienced and faced the gruesome assassination of its two prime ministers Smt. Indra Gandhi and Rajive Gandhi and it cannot afford any further risk.
Thank God that the Prime Minister returned safe to Delhi and sound and the country heaved a sigh of relief. It is perhaps the state government of headed by Congress Party's Charanjeet Singh Channi who is accused of engineering such a serious situation as it is believe they did not want that the public rally of the prime minister Narendera Modi at Firozpur be successful.
Not allowing the prime minister to attend and address the public rally is very undemocratic and it should not have happened but perhaps due to the collaboration of the Congress government with some anti-social elements they enacted the episode.
It was the responsibility of the government of Punjab to maintain law and order during the Prime minister's visit and rally and in this the state government has failed. But it is very unbecoming and unfortunate that the various political and opposition parties have not expressed their concern and have not condemned the security breach in the Prime Minister in an unequivocal manner.
It needs through probe and investigation to fix the responsibility so that those responsible for the serious security lapse are dealt with under the law of the land. There is need to express the concern and agony over the breach in the prime ministers security by the political parties cutting across the party lines. Because the prime minister does not belong to a particular party or parties but is of the one hundred and thirty crore citizens. He is the prime minister of the country and as such he is not the prime minister of the BJP and its NDA partners as such is worthy of respect and veneration by all the people of the country.
In spite of the intelligence reports about the holding of the protests the Punjab police did not fallow the blue book and has not prepared and kept the contingency plan and route for the prime ministers convoy. Since Punjab is a sensitive boarder state and a visit by the head of the country having a security breach has dangerous implications. The ministry of home affairs of the government of India has sought a report from Punjab government on the security breach in the prime ministers schedule and how it happened. Besides, a report has been also demanded from the intelligence agencies over the entire gambit of this incident.
The prime minister was to visit the national Martyrs memorial at Hussainwala by helicopter but due to bad weather and poor visibility the prime minister waited for twenty minutes for the weather to clear up. But when the weather did not improve it was decided to visit the martyrs memorial by road and after necessary clearance from the DGP and when prime minister was on his way to the national war memorial, and when it reached to the flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters and as such prime minister convoy was stuck for twenty minutes on the flyover.
It is a big question whether a state government can scuttle the security of a prime minister which many BJP leaders are asking. Then what is the purpose and fun of a security brigade of the prime minister which is always with PM and what is the need for the security edifice of the centre. The need is to probe the security lapse and fix the responsibility and give a strict punishment to those found involved in the breach in the prime ministers security.
But it is doubly unfortunate that the issue of the security lapse in the PMs security is being politicized both by the BJP as well as by the Congress party and in doing so they are making many security protocols public which is very risky as the security of many VVIPs is concerned. Both the BJP and Congress are leveling charges and counter charges upon one another.
The political parties should desist from politicizing the issue of the security breach of the prime minister and should rise in one voice against such lapses and do everything possible so that such things will not happen in future again. Any entity related with the security of the PM should play its role and part in enhancing and improving the security of the prime minister. It is a matter of satisfaction that Congress president Sonia Gandhi has told the Punjab chief minister to look into the matter of the security breach of the prime minister. The Punjab government has acted swiftly and has sent the report concerning the security lapse to the centre government.
