Amidst protests by the BJP over the security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab on Wednesday and allegations that Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was involved, a Delhi-based rights body has petitioned the Supreme Court to take note of the security breach.

The petition by Lawyer’s Voice, which alleges that the security lapse was pre-meditated and pre-planned, is scheduled to come up for hearing on Friday.

Modi had to cut short his visit to poll-bound Punjab, where he was scheduled to address a rally in Ferozepur and lay the foundation stones for several projects, after protestors blocked the road on which he was travelling, leaving him stranded on a flyover for 20 minutes.

In a press conference, the State unit of BJP criticised the Congress and charged that the “major security lapse” could not have happened without the sanction of Channi and his government. It also said that the Channi government had no right to remain in power as it could not ensure law and order.

BJP cadres, led by the party’s State president Somu Veerraju, burnt an effigy of Channi at Suryaraopet on Thursday blaming him for the security lapse.

Channi, on Wednesday, had expressed regret that Modi’s visit had to be cut short but clarified that there was neither a security lapse nor any attempt to attack the PM. He also defended the “peaceful” protest of the farmers and said that he was not going to ‘lathi-charge’ them.

On Thursday, the Punjab government, constituted a two-member high level committee, comprising retired Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Principal Secretary, Home Affairs and Justice, Anurag Verma, to conduct a detailed probe into lapses during PM’s visit to Ferozepur, an official spokesperson said. The committee will submit its report in three days.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW