The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on Friday a plea to ensure there is no breach in the security of the Prime Minister in future, even as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) constituted a three-member committee to investigate the security breach. An MHA spokesperson in a tweet shared the move taken by the Ministry, saying that the “three-member committee will be led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat and comprising of Balbir Singh, Joint Director, IB and Shri S. Suresh, IG, SPG.”. The committee has been advised to submit the report at the earliest, the spokesperson said.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana took note of senior advocate Maninder Singh’s submission that a serious breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security took place in Ferozepur, Punjab, on Wednesday. After that, the Prime Minister returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally. “We will list it tomorrow as the first item,” the bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, said on Thursday.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that he believes that the judicial system of the country gives justice to all. “There was a big lapse in the security of the Prime Minister yesterday in Punjab. On this matter, some people have gone to the Supreme Court. The Home Ministry has also sought a report. The judicial system of the country gives justice to all,” the Union Minister said when asked about the Punjab government denying charges of lapses in security.
The Punjab government on Thursday constituted a high-level committee to investigate lapses during PM Modi’s visit to Ferozepur. The Committee would comprise Justice (Retd.) Mehtab Singh Gill, Principal Secretary (Home Affairs) and Justice Anurag Verma and would submit its report within three days, the state government led by Congress said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanked President Ram Nath Kovind for his concern for taking a first-hand account of the security breach in his convoy in Punjab yesterday. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, “Called on Rashtrapati Ji. Thankful to him for his concern. Grateful for his good wishes, which are always a source of strength.” “President Ram Nath Kovind met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today and received from him a first-hand account of the security breach in his convoy in Punjab yesterday. The President expressed his concerns about the serious lapse,” the President of India tweeted.
The Union Cabinet is learnt to have discussed on Thursday the issue of security breach during PM Modi’s visit to Punjab, with several ministers expressing concern over the development and seeking “exemplary action” in the matter, sources said. They said all the ministers expressed anguish over the “major security breach”, with some demanding strong action. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, was held after a week’s gap. It started with several ministers raising the issue and expressing anguish over the manner in which the Congress government in Punjab has dealt with it. “A number of ministers also felt that there should be exemplary action in the matter, so that such events are never repeated again. They also said that never before has a Prime Minister’s security been compromised in this manner,” a minister said on the condition of anonymity.
Sources said the issue is being discussed at the highest level and the Union Home Minister may take some exemplary action to avoid the recurrence of such an event. Earlier, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu spoke to the Prime Minister and expressed his deep concern over the incident. He also expressed the hope that stringent steps will be taken to scrupulously adhere to the established security protocol and ensure that such a situation does not recur in the future, the Vice President’s office said on Twitter.
Meanwhile, a report from Ferozepur, Punjab, quoted Bhartiya Kisan Union (Krantikari) chief Surjit Singh Phool as saying that when the Senior Superintendent of Police Ferozepur asked them to vacate the road saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on his way to a rally by road, they thought that the officer was “bluffing”. Speaking to the reporters, Phool said, “SSP Ferozepur asked us to vacate the road saying that the Prime Minister was going to the rally venue by road. We thought he was bluffing.”
National spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Rakesh Tikait said, “When the Prime Minister was coming to Punjab, what arrangements did he make regarding security? The news about him saying that he survived makes it clear that it was a stunt. It was an attempt to find a cheap way to gain public sympathy.” “Central government says that there was a security lapse and the Punjab government says that Prime Minister did not go there because chairs in his rally were empty. Both are only trying to defend themselves. The Prime Minister should not have gone there,” Tikait added.
‘PM AN INSTITUTION’
On Thursday, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted, “The Prime Minister of India is an institution. It is the duty of every Government to provide foolproof security and safeguard the dignity of this institution. Anything contrary should be unacceptable in our democracy.”
Meanwhile, Congress MP Manish Tewari has demanded a probe into the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Punjab visit on Wednesday by a sitting judge of the high court and said that his security was not a “political football”. “The security of the Prime Minister is not a political football. It is a sensitive matter. It should not have happened,” the Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib told a news agency. He further said that the security of the Prime Minister was governed by an Act of Parliament, called the Special Protection Group Act. “It is a very well laid out procedure as to how the Prime Minister and his immediate family have to be secured,” Tewari said.
“Therefore, if there has been a security lapse, it should be investigated by a sitting judge of the High Court and whosoever is responsible that responsibility needs to be fixed. People need to be held accountable because the security of the Prime Minister involved a nation as a whole,” he added.
However, Punjab’s Congress Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s office issued a release quoting Channi telling reporters that “Punjabis have never ever shied away from making sacrifices for the nation and are as patriot a race as any other in the country. Here at Dana Mandi, the fact of the matter was that barely 700 people turned up at the rally site which forced the PM to retrace his steps and later the blame was pinned on the Punjab Government citing security threat to the Prime Minister.”
“The truth is that five days before the scheduled rally of the Prime Minister, the Special Protection Group (SPG) took over the landing spot, rally site, and each security detail but later on the Prime Minister’s cavalcade suddenly took land route”, said Channi adding the route was cleared by the Special Protection Group (SPG).
Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security lapse in Punjab “pre-planned” and holding the Congress-led government in Punjab responsible for the same, Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V. Muraleedharan on Thursday said that political rivalry should not result in personal enmity. “It wasn’t just a security lapse but was pre-planned by Congress and its government in Punjab, as they hate PM Modi. This shows they can go to any extent to stop him. Political rivalry should not result in personal enmity,” Muraleedharan told reporters.