The Supreme Court is setting up a committee under a retired Supreme Court judge to conduct a time-bound and impartial inquiry into the circumstances that led to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s convoy being stuck on that flyover on 5 January. The Bench headed by Chief Justice of India, N.V. Ramanna indicated that in the meanwhile both the ongoing inquiries respectively by the Central Government and the State Government would have to stop for the time being.
We already know that the Union Government had ordered a high-powered committee to inquire into the same. The State Chief Minister, Charanjit Singh Channi announced an inquiry by a retired High Court judge. All the inquiries will now have to wait till the Apex Court findings.
The seriousness of the matter can be gauged from the fact that the Apex Court, which had already intervened in the matter, decided on Monday to form a committee under a retired Supreme Court judge. The DGP Chandigarh and IG NIA would be members along with the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, who has seized the records of the PM’s security as per the orders of the Apex Court.
This puts to rest the attempt by the Congress to make light of the entire issue through various conflicting statements. It cannot be denied that the convoy that got stranded was in the firing range of the Pakistan Army. “Where his convoy was stopped, it is only 10 km away from the Indo-Pak border. Heavy artillery is usually deployed by Pakistan at the border,” senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said to debunk Channi’s no-threat theory.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi tried to make light of the security threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his interview to a television channel. He got down from his car during the interview and met some protestors and said that people tried to stop him in a democratic way. The same would have happened to PM Modi if at all and asserted that there was no security threat.
This can be said to be the most irresponsible statement from any Chief Minister. Channi should know that he is not the Prime Minister. Also, he has not done anything in his short political life as Chief Minister to invite any security threat. If you are in power for long you are forced to take decisions that go against some vested interests.
He should not forget that Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Beant Singh was assassinated in a bomb blast in 1995. This was carried out by a member of Babbar Khalsa International. An attempt on the life of Babulal Marandi was made when he was not the Chief Minister, and he lost his son in the attack. He had acted tough against Naxals when he was the Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
Smt Indira Gandhi was killed by her own bodyguard because of her decision to allow Operation Blue Star against terrorists holed up in the Golden Temple. Army Chief General A.S. Vaidya was assassinated after he demitted office. He had led Operation Blue Star. Indira Gandhi’s son late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber for his decision to allow Indian Army to go to Sri Lanka and fight against the LTTE, the dreaded terrorist outfit.
Those who take tough decisions for the safety and security of the country become the target of vested interests and not those who just pass their time thinking that it is a gift of luck they have got to enjoy life. Whether Channi deserved to be the CM or not is a different issue, but it is clear that he has failed to understand his responsibility. Even a kid politician would do better to feel sorry and apply correctives.
Prime Minister Modi and his convoy got stranded on a bridge 30 kilometres from the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district on the Moga-Ferozepur highway. He had alighted at Bhatinda airport from where he was to take a helicopter to go to the Martyrs’ Memorial on Wednesday. Due to inclement weather, he had to undertake the journey by road. Such possibility, is always taken into consideration while planning the PM’s route.
When the convoy reached the bridge, the SPG discovered that the road was blocked by some protestors and the convoy was stopped for 20 minutes, waiting for the road to be cleared. Some people had come dangerously close to the Prime Minister’s car as seen from the video footage. There were reports that some protestors had come close to 100 metres of the Prime Minister’s car. This could mean an ambush. The PM cancelled the trip and returned to Bhatinda airport.
His statement at the airport showed the hurt: “Thank the CM that I could get back to Bhatinda airport alive”, he told media persons there. The same theme echoed in statements of various BJP leaders including Union Ministers Amit Shah and Smriti Irani. The entire party went into contemplative mood and performed yagnas for the long life of the Prime Minister. The Home Ministry ordered an inquiry, the state government said it would order an inquiry by a retired judge of the High Court.
Reports have come that some protestors were tipped about the PM’s route. It appears that the state government did not take the precautions needed during such a high-profile visit. This is not the first time that the Prime Minister travelled by road instead of by a helicopter. Everything is built into the security arrangement.
There is no doubt that this appears to be serious security lapse. The Prime Minister has the highest security threat due to the tough decisions he has taken to keep the country together, whether it is against terrorism, against Pakistan, against Naxals, on CAA or on scrapping of Articles 370 and 35A. No Prime Minister before him had taken so many decisions and annoyed so many vested interests.
Was the lapse deliberate, pointing to a conspiracy, or did it just happen because the state law and order machinery did not act as per the protocol? In both cases, it is a serious matter. If it was a conspiracy, the country must know about the conspirators and their designs and punishments must be meted out. If it was a breach of protocol, then it calls for serious action to hammer into everyone that the Prime Minister’s security cannot be taken lightly. There has to be zero tolerance of such lapses.
After the assassination of important political leaders, inquiries are set up to figure out the truth. All such inquiries point to some lapses somewhere. These are discussed in the media and then forgotten. We should not try to be wiser after the event since the nation cannot afford to lose another Prime Minister to the designs of anti-India forces. It is in this context that the Supreme Court’s decision is timely and pre-emptive.
Needless to remind that he is the most popular Indian Prime Minister in terms of following and he is also a global leader. India has been marching ahead strongly under his leadership. Whether it is Pakistan or China, they have got a response they may not have anticipated earlier. Global leaders know that Modi must be taken into confidence for any global concerns to be addressed effectively—whether terrorism or climate change.
So naturally when CM Channi tries to compare himself with PM Modi, one is aghast at the political immaturity of the person who has got the job due to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. There is another political clown, Kanhaiya Kumar who said that why should the Prime Minister who has a 56-inch chest be fearful of any security threat. Youth Congress chief B.V. Srinivas tweeted “Modi ji, how’s Josh!” That these people claim to lead the country is a sad travesty of Indian politics.
Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tried to shift the blame on the SPG saying they should not have allowed the journey until full clearance was given. A party that has been in power should not speak in this language. The elite SPG force is known for its professionalism and everything is mapped out including likely last minute changes in the travel plan.
“What should the police have done? Should the farmers have been shot dead?” Surjewala asked. “They are not terrorists, Naxalites and Maoists”, he added. However, he conveniently forgot that in such a situation the state police was just needed to be prepared for another sanitised route. And what would you do if protestors want to come close to the Prime Minister. Will you allow them or push them away?
Punjab being a sensitive border state, there was a need to take extra care. We have heard of the drone phenomenon in border districts and attempts by Khalistani terrorist organisations to poison the youths. When anyone could have come so close to the Prime Minister’s car, anything could have happened. Experts have said that even a low intensity explosive device could have blown the bridge and inflicted the damage. Are we out of our minds to say that there was no security lapse?
The writer is the author of ‘Narendra Modi: the GameChanger’. A former journalist, he is a member of BJP’s media relations department and represents the party as spokesperson while participating in television debates. The views expressed are personal.
The seriousness of the matter can be gauged from the fact that the Apex Court, which had already intervened in the matter, decided on Monday to form a committee under a retired Supreme Court judge.