New Delhi: Launching a vitriolic attack on the Congress government in Punjab for not following the protocol during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said the security breach was a pre-planned sponsored conspiracy.
Adityanath said the Congress should apologize to the nation for ignoring the protocol during Prime Minister Modi’s visit.
“PM Modi’s security breach during his visit to Punjab was a pre-planned sponsored conspiracy. The Punjab government didn’t follow the protocol. Drone or any attack might have happened there but the Punjab government ignored all this,” he said, ANI reported.
Echoing similar sentiments, Adityanath’s Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami said Prime Minister Modi’s security breach during his visit to Punjab was not spontaneous but a sponsored plan.
“The Congress high command should answer to the country... It’s in Congress DNA to speak against Army and promote the Pak-China agenda,” he added in Uttarakhand capital Dehradun.
‘It Was Not Spontaneous But Sponsored’: MP CM Chouhan
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also took potshots at the Congress on the issue and posed several questions to party chief Sonia Gandhi.
“It was not a coincidence but conspiracy. It was not spontaneous but sponsored. The hatred against Modi has killed Congress’ soul. Not only its publicity graph but even its character is falling,” said Chouhan referring to a ‘sting operation’ carried out by a news channel, PTI reported.
“The sting operation revealed that local police officials were aware of the obstacle on the PM’s route and had informed the seniors in advance but the warning was ignored,” he added.
Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister asked why Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and top police officials were missing when the incident took place.
“This shows that the security breach was not mere carelessness but a work of collusion. When the entire country expressed concern about the PM’s security breach, Congress leaders were expressing joy,” he alleged.
The Supreme Court has appointed a five- member panel headed by former apex court judge Indu Malhotra to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Punjab.
An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana also appointed the Inspector General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Chandigarh Director General of Police (DGP) Praveer Ranjan, the Punjab and Haryana High Court registrar-general and the Additional DGP (Security) of Punjab as members to the panel, PTI reported.
The apex court has directed the Punjab and Haryana High Court registrar-general to provide all the seized documents pertaining to the security arrangements made by the Punjab government for the Prime Minister’s visit immediately to the panel head.
The Prime Minister’s Punjab visit was cut short earlier on January 5 after a “major security lapse” as he was stranded on a flyover for 20 minutes due to a blockade by the protesters, prompting the Union Home Ministry to seek an immediate report from the state government.