Breach in PM’s security in Punjab is a new low

According to some media reports, the Punjab Police had leaked the PM’s highly-secret travel plan to Bharatiya Kisan Union leaders, who then planned the roadblock on the route taken by the PM’s cavalcade with the help of the state police and administration. Video evidence points towards the glaring breach in the PM’s security. There are several other serious lapses on the part of the Congress government in Punjab, which clearly implicate it in this unprecedented incident.

It is obvious that the entire episode was orchestrated by the top leadership of the Congress. First, the Punjab Police, a figure no less than its chief, reportedly gave false assurances to the PM’s security establishment that the route was sanitised. Second, the Chief Secretary and DGP, who were supposed to be a part of the PM’s convoy, did not show up. Third, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi refused to attend to the frantic calls to him when the PM’s cavalcade was stuck on a flyover for a full 20 minutes, forcing the PM to cancel his visit. This was immediately followed by a senior Congress leader’s atrocious tweet. The chronology is self-revealing.

The day will be remembered in India’s history as a black day. What has left the nation shocked and horrified is the fact that this comes from the same Congress that lost two of its leaders and former PMs — Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi — in terror attacks. Endangering the prime minister just a few kilometres from the international border shows how the Congress has stooped to its lowest ebb. The Congress government in Punjab has sullied India’s federalism. It has broken the trust of all Indians.

Senior Punjab Congress leader Sunil Jakhar put it aptly when he stated that what had happened was unacceptable. “It’s against Panjabiyat. A secure passage for the PM… should have been ensured. That’s how democracy works,” he tweeted. “Punjabiyat” symbolises the large-heartedness of the people of Punjab, the love and respect they have for all, their sacrifices and contributions towards nation-building. But what the Congress government showed the nation and the world reflects its politics of hatred and animosity, and its total disregard for India’s constitutional norms. Terming the incident as “unfortunate”, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said: “At no point should we be complacent when it comes to protecting the highest executive office of India. We should learn from the past.” His obvious references to the assassinations of the two former prime ministers underline how the Congress government in Punjab failed to fulfil its constitutional duty.

What CM Channi and his seniors in the Congress forgot was that the prime minister belongs to the entire nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a man on a mission. A mission to make India a superpower, to reclaim India’s position of “vishwaguru”. For him, the growth and development of the nation is the top priority. His vision of development and progress has touched every state, irrespective of the political party that rules it. Punjab is also among the states that have benefited the most from the Modi government’s policies and programmes.

His visit to Punjab was yet another major step towards improving the state’s infrastructure. He was also to pay homage at the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala, built in memory of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. But the Congress leadership and Channi government’s hatred and hostility towards PM Modi have made them completely blind, so much so that they openly play into the hands of India’s enemies. The Congress’s top leaders have become the propaganda machines of China and Pakistan. A recent tweet from the Congress’s “Yuvraj” about Galwan Valley is the most recent example of this. It’s high time the Congress does a course correction. Else, the people of India will throw them into oblivion once and for all.

The writer is a Rajya Sabha MP and BJP National Media in-charge