Regret PM had to return, we have full respect for him, says Punjab CM
Amid the allegations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “security lapse” in a sensitive zone near to the Indo-Pak border, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday categorically denied the charges while blaming the “last-minute change of plan”.
“The Prime Minister was not attacked. There was no threat to his life. It was just an agitation. There was a peaceful protest on the way. This is wrong to say that there was a security lapse. There should not be any politics in this. We have respect for our Prime Minister,” said Channi while addressing the media after controversy erupted over a “major security lapse” during the Prime Minister’s Ferozepur visit.
At the same time, the Chief Minister expressed “regret” that the Prime Minister had to return. “He is our Prime Minister. We regret that he has had to go back. We have full respect for him,” he said.
Accusing the BJP of blaming the Punjab Government for political reasons, Channi also stressed that everyone should resist giving “political colour” to the “unfortunate” incident. “It is wrong to link the farmers’ agitation with the threat to the PM’s security...We should not do any politics on this,” he said.
Claiming that the Punjab Police was “capable of providing security”, Channi asserted, “All this happened because the PM’s travel plans were changed at the last minute. Yet, the PM’s office was informed beforehand that agitators had assembled on the road. He decided to cancel his rally. His team took the decision to cancel the rally.”
In pictures and videos going viral on social media and released from different sources, including the PMO, Modi was seen sitting in a black Toyota Fortuner secured by SPG officers. Barely a few feet from his car, people and policemen were seen in clusters.
The Chief Minister maintained that the Prime Minister’s entire programme was by air, but suddenly, his security agencies planned to go by road. “Some protesters came on the way and they blocked the road with tractor-trolleys. Despite this, if they feel that there has been a security lapse, then we will get it investigated. So far, no action has been taken against any officer,” he said.
Channi maintained that he had to receive the Prime Minister and go along with him. “I had to go to Ferozepur and attend the meeting. Yesterday, some of my office staff tested positive for Covid, then my principal secretary and PA tested positive. Because of this, considering my responsibility, I did not go there but requested the Finance Minister to welcome the Prime Minister,” he said, adding that Deputy Chief Minister (Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa) and local MLA were also requested to welcome the PM.
The Chief Minister also maintained that he had been working till 3 am the day before to ensure that everything went well during the Prime Minister’s visit. “Yesterday I got a call from the Home Minister that the BJP workers can be stopped and we should immediately remove farmers. I assured him to take every precaution. We tried till 3 o’clock in the night to remove them from the roads,” he said.