PM security lapse: Police brought farmers in SUVs, made them protest, claims witness
A witness claimed that during the Punjab visit, the state police themselves threatened the Prime Minister's security.
FollowEven as the Centre and the Punjab government wrestle over fixing responsibility for the security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state to inaugurate development projects, an "eyewitness" has propped up and claimed that during the visit, the state police themselves protested and threatened the Prime Minister's security.
The eyewitness, retired IAS officer SR Ladhar, spoke to a local news channel the police facilitated the entry of protesters into the sanitised zone. He alleges that this was a well-planned conspiracy by the Punjab government. "I am an eyewitness. In front of me, a police van (Fortuner SUV) in which these farmers were escorted. These farmers were carrying sticks, banners and flags. They (police) brought the farmers here and made them start the protest here. After which they revered the vehicle and went away," Â Ladhar claims.
Alleging that the Punjab government was directly responsible for derailing Prime Minister Modi's rally in the state, the former IAS officer requested the Union Home Ministry to take action against those police personnel who are responsible for this. The former Ferozepur DC further claimed that had protests gone out of control over the flyover, there could have been lives lost.Â
The Punjab government, on the other hand, has been claiming that the manner in which the BJP was projecting the incident there seems to be a clear conspiracy to defame the state. In fact, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi even thinks that the issue could be used to impose President's rule in the state.
At a public gathering on Friday, Channi also said claimed that the Prime Minister may have been exaggerating the threat to his security. He stated that even though not a single stone was hurled, not a single bullet was fired and no slogans were raised, the Prime Minister still claimed that he had managed to make it out alive. Are you saying we want to kill our Prime Minister, Channi asked?
