India: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi returned without addressing a BJP rally in Punjab after his convoy got stuck for 15-20 minutes on the flyover due to a road blockade by some protestors at Hussainiwala on Wednesday, a village in Ferozpur district of Punjab.
The Prime Minister of the country was travelling by road from Bathinda to National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala.
Moreover, the home ministry have described the incident as a "major lapse" in his security.
According to a statement by the Home Ministry of India, the PM Modi landed at Bathinda on Wednesday morning from where he was to go to the national martyrs’ memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter.
However, ‘due to rain and poor visibility, he waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out.’
Guards surrounding PM Modi’s Vehicle: PTI
“When the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the national marytrs’ memorial via road, which would take more than two hours.
He proceeded to travel via road after necessary confirmation of security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police,” the statement said.
Around 30 km away from the memorial, when Modi’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 said.
It said the prime minister’s schedule and travel plan were communicated well in advance to the Punjab government and as per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready
In the statement, the home ministry said that 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,” the statement said
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi denies any security lapse and said that his government had no information about the PM’s travel via road from Bathinda airport to Ferozepur.
“There was no security lapse. PM’s road plans were made at the last minute. He was supposed to go by helicopter. I was up late at night overseeing security arrangements for his rally. 70,000 chairs were put up for rally but only 700 people turned up.”
Moreover, the Punjab government on Thursday, January 6, 2022, constituted a high-level committee to investigate the lapses.
