Punjab govt has no right to stay in power: Himachal Pradesh CM after PM Modi's security lapse

Reacting to the lapse in security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Punjab visit, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday said that the Punjab government has no right to stay in power after the incident.

While speaking to reporters, Thakur said, "Punjab government has no right to stay in power after today's incident of a security breach of the Prime Minister of India. The state government failed to fulfill their responsibility to provide security to the Prime Minister."

Thakur added that Narendra Modi is not only the Prime Minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but he represents the country as a Prime Minister.

Thakur demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah takes a strict action in the matter.

According to the statement the PM had landed at Bathinda this morning from where he was to go to National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the PM waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear.

Observing no improvement in the weather conditions, the decision to visit the Memorial via road was taken after which PM Modi proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police.

"Around 30 km away from National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the PM's convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protestors. The PM was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of PM," said the statement by the MHA.

"The PM's schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to Punjab Government. As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready. Also in view of the contingency plan, Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed," further said the statement.

The Prime Minister headed back to Bathinda airport after the security lapse."The Ministry of Home Affairs taking cognizance of this serious security lapse has sought a detailed report from the state government. The State Government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action," the statement said.

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also announced from the stage at Ferozepur that PM Modi canceled his scheduled visit to Ferozepur to address a rally "due to some reasons".

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said, "I express regret that PM Modi had to return during his visit to Ferozepur district today. We respect our PM. We had asked them (PMO) to discontinue the visit due to bad weather conditions & protests. We had no information of his (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) sudden route change. There was no security lapse during the PM visit."

"If there were any security lapses during PM Modi's visit today, then we will conduct an inquiry. There was no danger to the prime minister," added Channi.

( With inputs from ANI )

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