Pro-Khalistan group Sikh for Justice (SFJ) had on 2 January released a message offering a reward of $100,000 to “policemen, journalists, hospital employees and to general public” for showing a shoe to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election rally at Ferozepur, Punjab, on 5 January.
PM Modi eventually could not attend the rally, scheduled for Wednesday, due to an unprecedented security lapse which saw his cavalcade being stuck on a flyover for 20 minutes due to protesters blocking the movement of his cavalcade.
This was supposed to be PM Modi’s first visit to Punjab since the repeal of the three farm laws, for which the local unit of the BJP had been preparing for days. Apart from addressing the political rally, the PM was supposed to lay the foundation stone of PGI Satellite Centre at Ferozepur and two medical colleges at Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala.
The Daily Guardian has accessed messages sent by SFJ functionaries, including its “face”, the US-based Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, asking their supporters to “show” shoes to the PM during his visit to Ferozepur. Pannun in another message has also stated that “they” can carry out bomb blasts if they want but they believe in “ballot bombs”. On 23 December, a bomb blast in the District and Sessions Court, Ludhiana, that was reportedly carried out by the SFJ had led to the death of one individual. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is investigating the case. The SFJ had denied their role in the blast.
The Centre had banned SFJ in July 2019, a separatist group that was formed in 2007. Security agencies have, officials said, gathered substantial proof that its activities were being financed by Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI.
As per sources, the PM had arrived Bathinda on 12.05 pm and was scheduled to fly to the National Martyrs Memorial, Hussainiwala, Ferozepur. However, due to rain and poor visibility, it was decided that he would go there by road. The distance from the airport to the memorial is around 100 km. The PM’s cavalcade left the airport at 12.40, local official source said. When he was at a distance of about 30 km from the memorial, his cavalcade was stopped by protestors. Pictures shared by government agencies show SPG personnel surrounding the SUV of the PM from all sides even as they waited for the road-block to be cleared.
At 1.55 pm, the local media was informed that the rally has been cancelled. Half an hour later, Union minster Mansukh Mandaviya, who was present in Ferozepur on the stage, told the close to 15,000-17.000 people who had assembled at the spot that the rally had been cancelled. In a press release on the issue shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at 3.02 pm, it said that that the Punjab state government did not deploy the required security measures despite being informed of the PM’s plan well in advance.
“Today morning the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi landed at Bathinda from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussain Wala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the Prime Minister waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. When the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. He proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police.”
“Around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussain Wala, when the Prime Minister’s convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protestors. The Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister’s schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to the 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 the Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport,” the release read.
BJP president J.P. Nadda, while sharing his thoughts on the matter through Twitter, attacked the Congress government in Punjab for the security lapse. “What is extremely worrisome is that this incident was also a big security lapse as far as the PM is concerned. Protesters were given access to the Prime Minister’s route while the Punjab CS and DGP gave assurances to SPG that the route is clear. To make matters worse, CM Channi refused to get on the phone to either address the matter or solve it. The tactics used by the Congress government in Punjab would pain anyone who believes in democratic principles,” Nadda tweeted.
The MHA led by Amit Shah has asked for a detailed report from the state government while asking it to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action against the officers concerned. The Charanjit Singh Channi government has however denied any security lapse. “There were no shortcomings in the security arrangements during the PM’s visit to Punjab today. The accusations of a security breach are baseless. The truth is that BJP’s rally was a flop show. When PM got to know this, he decided to return,” Punjab minister Rajkumar Verka told the local media.