On Wednesday, at about noon, the Prime Minister arrived in Bathinda. He planned to fly to the National Martyr’s Memorial in Hussainiwala and then to the rally venue from there.
The PM waited for almost 20 minutes for the weather to clear, due to rain and poor visibility. When the weather did not improve, he decided to travel by road to the National Martyr’s Memorial, which would take more than two hours.
After receiving appropriate confirmation of security arrangements from the DGP Punjab Police, he proceeded to go via road. When the PM’s convoy approached a flyover around 30 kilometres from the National Martyr’s Memorial in Hussainiwala, it was discovered that the road had been blocked by several protesters.
Several farmers’ unions gathered in Ferozepur and surrounding areas to protest Narendra Modi’s visit, bringing back memories of the farmers’ protest that prompted him to scrap farm rules last November.
In what is being described as a severe security breach, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was detained on a flyover for 20 minutes by protesters in Punjab. They were calling for the resignation of a cabinet official whose son is suspected of killing farmers.
The PM’s rally would have been the first in the state ahead of the Punjab assembly election, and it would have been noteworthy given that Punjab has been the epicentre of one of the most momentous popular uprisings in recent history.
However, the prime minister’s cancellation of his schedule and return to Delhi without speaking at the rally or inaugurating the projects has sparked a massive political dispute between the BJP and Congress. Meanwhile, #GobackModi began trending on Twitter hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rally in Punjab’s border town of Ferozepur on Wednesday.
The BJP claimed to have organized 3,200 buses to transport people from all around the state to the Ferozepur event. Each of the party’s office-bearers had been assigned a bus by the state leadership. Around 60 buses were provided to some constituencies.
The state BJP branch stated that five lakh people would attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Ferozepur event, but just 5,000 people showed up, causing the party major humiliation.
Amid the COVID cases rising again, the election rallies seem nowhere to pause. Punjab has not witnessed the rise yet, but people gathering like this can be a major health security breach. Why is nobody talking about the risk that the people who would be a part of these mega rallies possess?
For several days, farmers’ organizations had been preparing for a fierce showdown. They issued statements from rural gurdwaras requesting that people refrain from attending the gathering. The BJP’s troubles were exacerbated by the cold and rain.
The Prime minister’s convoy and the party could not withstand the fact that they had to sit on a flyover in a car with SPG security around them. Imagine the fate of these farmers who were protesting on the borders for 15 long months continuously for their rights.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (Krantikari)’s Surjeet Singh Phool said, “We were at least 10 kilometres from Prime Minister Modi’s convoy. We had no idea he was arriving by car. The villagers later told us it was the prime minister’s convoy on the flyover.”
He further stated that the PM’s decision to travel by road rather than by helicopter is odd because it was made only a few hours prior. “There was never any intention of stopping the prime minister’s convoy. Around 12:30-1:00 p.m., we were informed that we were to leave the road. We couldn’t believe it. We suspected they were misleading us,” said the BKU(K) leader.
Surjeet said, “The prime minister’s route is usually cleared at least two to three hours before the convoy has to pass. The Prime Minister does not change his mind so quickly.”
According to ANI, PM Modi told authorities at Bhatinda airport, “Apne CM ko thanks kehna ki main Bhatinda airport tak zinda laut paaya (Say thanks to your chief minister that I could make it to Bhatinda airport alive.),”
Meanwhile, people across India will perform a ‘Maha Mrityunjaya Jaap’ for PM Modi’s long life at 12:30 p.m., according to the Bharatiya Janata Party, who are concerned about security lapse. Some party leaders will attend the rites in Delhi, including Arun Singh at the Preet Vihar temple, Vaijyant Panda at the Jhandewalan temple, and Dushyant Gautam at the Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, will also perform a ‘Maha Mrityunjaya Jaap’ for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bhopal.
Currently, the Special Protection Group has added a Mercedes-Maybach S650 Guard to the prime minister’s cavalcade. A Maybach automobile costs more than Rs 12 crore, according to a section of the media.
All of these life-threatening security issues narratives are seemingly gaining an ample amount of attention and sympathy for the PM and the party. The BJP has shifted all the blame for the security lapse to the Punjab government, and a probe has been ordered.
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