On Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi was left stranded on a highway after a group of protesting farmers blocked his route to an election rally in Punjab’s Ferozepur. The central government has blamed the Punjab administration for the security breach and urged it to present a detailed report on the incident.
Modi was on his way to the National Martyrs Memorial located at the Hussainiwala border with Pakistan, where he was scheduled to lay foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 42,750 crore ($5.7 billion), including the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research’s satellite centre.
He was then supposed to participate in a rally for the upcoming elections in Punjab scheduled for February-March. However, his convoy was brought to an abrupt halt around 30 kilometres from the rally destination by protesting farmers blocking the road. Pictures and videos from the incident show the convoy on the flyover with the Special Protection Group personnel circled around PM Modi’s vehicle.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a detailed report on today’s security breach in Punjab. Such dereliction of security procedure in the Prime Minister’s visit is totally unacceptable and accountability will be fixed.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) January 5, 2022
Consequently, the event was cancelled. Moreover, the Home Ministry urged the Punjab government to “take cognisance of this serious security lapse” and “take strict action.” In a statement, the Ministry clarified that the PM’s schedule was communicated to the Punjab government, which failed to make the necessary logistical arrangements that should have included a contingency plan to ensure Modi’s safety.
Likewise, Home Minister Amit Shah asked the state government for a detailed report. He blamed the opposition Indian National Congress, which is currently in control of the Punjab administration, saying that the incident indicates how the party “thinks and functions.” He also asked the Congress leaders to apologise to the Indian people for the breach.
Security breach in PM Narendra Modi's convoy near Punjab's Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district. The PM's convoy was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. pic.twitter.com/xU8Jx3h26n
— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2022
Other leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also lashed out against the Punjab government. Speaking to the press, Union Minister Smriti Irani said the incident illustrates Congress’ intention of harming the PM. She also criticised the dismal state of security in Punjab, saying that officials were unable to follow basic protocols and had thus endangered the life of the country’s prime minister. Furthermore, she alleged that the farmers were “planted political instruments” of the Congress government. Many of these same criticisms were echoed by former Chief Minister and Congress leader Amarinder Singh, who said President’s rule should be imposed in the state to ensure law and order.
However, Congress party and its leaders have maintained that there was no security breach. Instead, they claim that PM Modi’s team had not informed the government that he would be travelling by road after he was unable to fly down in a helicopter owing to bad weather. Moreover, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi claimed that the PM had decided to cancel the rally due to low attendance, alleging that the security breach was an excuse to call off the rally. Nevertheless, the state government has set up a high-level committee to probe the lapses. The panel will present its report on the incident in three days.
According to Tribune India, farmers’ organisations had opposed the rally for several days leading up to the event. Likewise, religious institutions in local villages had urged people to refrain from attending the rally. BJP leader Ashwani Sharma claimed last week that the event would see the participation of over 500,000 people, which would have made it the biggest rally in Punjab’s history. In the end, however, only 5,000 people gathered for the subsequently cancelled event, with the low turnout also attributed to poor weather conditions.
The discontent among farmers is likely driven by the central government’s now-repealed farm laws, which resulted in tens of thousands of farmers, a majority of whom were from Punjab, camping along the borders of New Delhi for over a year. The laws were repealed in November.