The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has taken cognisance of a serious lapse in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security during his Punjab tour today and sought a detailed report from the state government.
The Prime Minister was on his way to Hussainiwala by road because of bad weather and the route was blocked at a flyover by protestors.
Modi was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister, MHA said.
The State Government has been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action.
In a statement, MHA said this morning, the Prime Minister landed at Bathinda from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter.
Due to rain and poor visibility, the Prime Minister waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out.
When the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours.
He proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police.
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.
After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport.
The Prime Minister’s schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to the Punjab Government. As per procedure, the State Government has to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready, MHA said.
Also in view of the contingency plan the Punjab Government was required to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which was clearly not deployed, MHA stated.