In an unprecedented development Prime Minister Narendra Modi today cancelled his Punjab visit halfway after his cavalcade stuck for 15 to 20 minutes on the Hussainewala flyover while he was on the way to the rally ground in Ferozpur to initiate projects worth Rs 42,750 crore.  He flew back to Delhi from Bhatinda airport, but this unusual  “U-turn” due to a security breach  has triggered a political storm in the country,  on social media and between the BJP and Congress ahead of state elections in Punjab.

As soon as Prime Minister’s cavalcade reached the flyover, the “protestors were allowed on the route who stopped the motorcade”. It was a major security breach on the part of the state government on the route of Prime Minister’s motorcade and as a result he had to cancel his  visit  to the venue of the rally , said analysts.     

Regardless of “BJP vs Congress blame game”, cancellation of the Prime Minister’s visit half-way to the rally ground in Ferozpur does not bode well for democracy in Punjab, caution analysts.  Prime Minister's Route  as per protocol is an hassle free corridor with no compromise on security, they said.    

Prime Minister told officials at Bhatinda airport that “tell the CM, thank you at least I came back alive”, said the agencies report.

According to Ministry of Home, Prime Minister’s schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to the Punjab government.  As per procedure they have to make necessary amendment to logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready, the ministry said.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandivya who was in the rally announced from the stage that Prime Minister cancelled his visit due to “some reasons”.

Ministry of Home Affairs says that it is taking cognizance of the serious security lapse and has ordered a detail report from the state government.  The state government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action in this regard, it stated.

BJP national President, JP Nadda claims that PM had to visit Punjab to launch development projects worth thousands of crores to the people of Punjab, but his visit was disrupted. “But we will not let such cheap mentality hinder progress of Punjab and will continue our effort for the development of Punjab”, Nadda said. 

Nadda alleged the state police was instructed to prevent people from attending the rally. The number of buses were stranded because of the high handedness of the police and in connivance with the protesters, he said.

“To make matters worse, Chief Minister Channy refused to get on the phone to either address the matter or solve it. Tactics used by the Congress government in Punjab is shocking for anyone who believes in democratic principles, Nadda said.

Nadda alleged the Punjab government fears defeat in the state assembly. Congress tried to sabotage the rally of the Prime Minister.  “In doing this, they did not bother that Prime Minister was also to pay tributes to Shahid Bhagat Singh and other martyrs and lay the foundation stone for key development works. But the Congress government in Punjab has shown that they are anti-government and have no respect for freedom fighters too”, he charged.

He said it is extremely worrisome that this incident was also a big security lapse as far as the Prime Minister is concerned. “Protesters were given access to the Prime Minister’s route while Punjab chief secretary and DGP gave assurances to SPG that the route is clear”, he charged.

Chief Minister Punjab Charanjit Singh Channi said there was no security breach to Prime Minister's cavalcade.  He was to fly by a helicopter  to Ferozpur, but there was a change of route  at the last moment due to bad weather, he claimed. 

On the other hand, Punjab Congress tweeted saying that Punjab Congress was showing the dissent by running a campaign “Punjab Modi Virodhi”, showcasing the mood of Punjab and dislike of the people of state towards him”.

Punjab Congress tweeted that Modi had not listened to Punjab farmers for more than a year. Today Punjab has stopped listening to Modi by tweeting the pictures of the rally venue.

Rebutting Nadda’s statement, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed the post-farmers agitation, the Modi government choose to totally ignore these promises. “Finally the reason for cancelling rally   was that there were no crowd to listen to Modiji’s and BJP should stop this blame game and should introspect on its anti-farmers attitude.  Hold rallies but listen to farmers first, he said.

Surjewala claimed  PM decided to take a road journey from  Hussainewala. It was not part of his original schedule to travel by road, he said.

Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh samittee has been protesting against PM’s visit. Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat had two rounds of negotiation with them, he said.

He said 10,000 security personnel were deployed for PM’s rally and all arrangements were made in tandem with SPG and other agencies. “Routes were carved even for all buses of BJP workers from Haryana and Rajasthan”, he claimed.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the Prime Minister had to cancel the visit due to a major security lapse during his visit today. It is a matter of concern as PM was starting development projects worth crores  of rupees in Punjab, he added.  

Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar said it is a matter of shame that the cavalcade of Prime Minister, who was to initiate crores of development works in Punjab was stopped. “This is a major security breach of the Prime Minister. It smacks of a conspiracy on the part of the Congress”, he charged.

Former Chief Minister of Punjab and Punjab Lok Congress Chief Capt Amrinder Singh said the present CM and HM have no right to be in power and they should quit. It is a complete failure of law and order in Punjab. They cannot provide security to Prime Minister in a place that too just 10 kms from border from Pakistan, he said.   

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma said it is a matter of shame that PM Modi’s cavalcade was stopped by protesters on his way to launch development schemes for welfare of Punjab. This is a serious security lapse and the fact that the Punjab didn’t address the issue makes matters even worse, he charged.