PM security breach: BJP meets Governor to seek sacking of Punjab home minister, DGP

Punjab BJP leaders met the Governor here on Thursday demanding the dismissal of the states home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and the police chief over the security breach during the Prime Ministers visit to PunjabThe opposition party also said it did not have any expectations from the committee set up by the state government to probe Wednesdays incident in which Prime Minister Narendra Modis convoy was stuck for several minutes on a flyover due to a farmers protestWe reject this committee The chief minister is the conspirator of this conspiracy What will this committee set up by his government do Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma told reporters after meeting Punjab Governor Banwarilal PurohitThe Punjab government has constituted a twomember high level committee to conduct a thorough probe into lapses during the PMs Wednesday trip to PunjabThe PMs convoy was stranded on a flyover in Ferozepur when it was 30 km away from the National Martyrs Museum in Hussainiwala where he was going due to a blockade by protesters on WednesdayHe returned from pollbound Punjab without attending any event or a rallyFormer Punjab minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi who switched over to BJP from Congress last month said responsibility for the lapses lies with Punjab governmentIt is not a small incident A highlevel probe should be held into entire incident said Sodhi who was part of the BJP delegation to meet GovernorHe said a central agency should probe the entire incidentSharma said it was the DGP and Chief Secretary who gave clearance to the PMs convoy to take the road after the weather turned inclement in Bathinda where the PM had landedAccording to an MHA statement issued on Wednesday the PM was earlier scheduled to go Hussainiwala from Bathinda in a helicopterSharma said the lapses show how Punjab government was ldquononseriousrdquo about PMs securityThe entire incident smacks of conspiracy and it appears everything was preplanned he allegedPrime Minister was visiting but why was chief minister not present in Ferozepur Why two deputy chief ministers were not present Why DGP and chief secretary were also not presentBesides there are other questions like who leaked the information that Prime Ministers cavalcade was to pass through the routerdquo he saidldquoThis means this government through police department hatched the conspiracy to bring the Prime Ministers cavalcade to a halt and this needs to be probed Sharma allegedAsked if the state BJP has demanded Governors rule in the state he said people have already rejected the Congress governmentCongress which earlier pushed the state in dark days of militancy should stop doing conspiracy to burn Punjab to grind their political axerdquo he saidSharma dismissed as ridiculous Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channis statement in which he said he could not come to receive the PM in Bathinda because two of his staff officials were tested positive for Covid19If he chose that reason to stay away then how did he call a press conference in Chandigarh on Wednesday evening Does he not care about health of journalists Did he get himself tested Sharma askedSharma alleged a large number of buses and other vehicles carrying BJP workers were prevented from reaching the rally siteHe said 3485 buses and 5000 other vehicles from different parts carrying workers were reaching for the eventHe alleged the state government was deliberately preventing the Prime Minister to inaugurate developmental projects worth thousands of crores as it feared the BJP will gain public supportThe Union Home Ministry on Wednesday directed the state government to file a detailed on the security breachHome Minister Amit Shah said such dereliction of the security procedure during the Prime Ministers visit was totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixedChanni has denied any security lapse or political motive behind it and said his government is ready for an inquiryThe incident triggered a major political row with the BJP alleging that the ruling Congress in Punjab tried to physically harm the Prime Minister while other parties too attacked the state government over the law and order issueThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever