Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Express file photo/Renuka Puri)
Amid Pune police’s claim of a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the government was serious about the security of the PM. “We are always serious about the PM’s security. The Maoists are fighting a lost battle. They are now active only in 10 districts in the country,” Singh, who was in Jammu and Kashmir for a two-day visit, told reporters.
Pune police on Thursday claimed to have seized an email from one of the five people arrested for having alleged Maoist links. The email, police said, hinted at plans to assassinate Modi in “another Rajiv Gandhi-type incident” by “targeting his roadshows”.
Union Minister R K Singh reiterated Rajnath’s statements and said the threat to PM Modi should be taken seriously. “The PM is under threat, it should be taken seriously. Those who don’t want India to emerge as a powerful nation have become uncomfortable as they know India can only become powerful under his leadership,” he told ANI.
Raising doubts over the Pune police’s findings, the Congress, however, said such stories are planted when the PM’s popularity takes a hit. “I am not saying this is completely untrue but it has been PM Modi’s old tactic since he was chief minister. Whenever his popularity declines, news of an assassination plot is planted. So it should be probed how much truth is in it this time,” Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, on the other hand, said it was better for the court to decide and ascertain the alleged assassination plot. “We should wait for the court to probe the email and reveal the truth. We have several security agencies in our country. Let our ministers look into the security.”
Meanwhile, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale condemned the alleged email seized by the police. “We condemn the anti-national elements hatching such a conspiracy,” Athawale said.
The letter, police suspect, was from a central committee member of the banned CPI (Maoist). Police sources claimed that “there is mention in this (seized) communication that Modi has successfully established BJP government in more than 15 states, that if this pace continues, then it would mean immense trouble for the Maoist party on all fronts, and that they were thinking along the lines of another Rajiv Gandhi type incident… that targeting his roadshows could be an effective strategy”.