January 5
Prime Minister Cancels Ferozepur Visit
In a major security breach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday cancelled his visit to Ferozepur town in Punjab. He was scheduled to lay the foundation stones of Rs 42,750 crore projects.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya was there for the foundation stone of three medical infrastructures, including the 100 bedded PGI Satellite Centre in Ferozepur to be built at a cost of more than Rs 490 crore.
He announced there that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be able to address the rally “due to some reasons”.
As planned, Prime Minister landed at Bhaisiana Air Force station in Bathinda town. From there, he was supposed to travel to Ferozepur by road.
As per the Ministry of Home Affairs’ statement on the PM Modi’s Punjab visit, “Today morning PM landed at Bathinda from where he was to go to National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, PM waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out.
“When the weather didn’t improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than 2 hours. He proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police.
“Around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the PM’s convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters. The PM was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of PM.
“The PM’s schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to 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 was clearly not deployed.
“After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda airport.”
The Ministry of Home Affairs took cognizance of the serious security lapse and has sought a detailed report from the state government.
