PM Modi security lapse: BJP claims protestors had access to PM's route, CM Channi refused to get on the phone

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday slammed the Congress-led Punjab government for disrupting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to launch development projects worth thousands of crores for the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forced to cancel his scheduled visit to Punjab's Ferozepur to address a rally following a major security breach. The lapse happened when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy was stuck over a flyover for 15-20 minutes. The convoy was blocked around 30 km from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala by some protestors.

BJP President JP Nadda took to social media to slam the Charanjit Singh Channi government and say that his party will not 'let such a cheap mentality hinder the progress of Punjab and will persist with efforts to develop the state.

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Nadda further claimed that the cheap antics of the Congress government had shown that they are anti-development and have no respect for freedom fighters too. He stated that the Congress government had tried to scuttle the Prime Minister's trip fearing a resounding defeat at the hands of the electorate.

"In doing they did not bother that the PM was to pay tributes to Bhagat Singh & other martyrs, and lay the foundation stone for key development works. By their cheap antics, Congress government in Punjab has shown that they are anti-development and have no respect for freedom fighters too," he said on micro-blogging platform Twitter.

"What is extremely worrisome is that this incident was also a big security lapse as far as the PM is concerned. Protestors were given access to the Prime Minister’s route while the Punjab chief secretary and DGP gave assurances to the Special Protection Group that the route was clear."

The BJP chief slammed Chief Minister Channi for allegedly refusing to get on the phone to either address the matter or solve the matter. 'The tactics used by the Congress government in Punjab would pain anyone who believes in democratic principles,' he said, adding, 'The state police was instructed to prevent people from attending the rally and thus many buses were held up with connivance of the protestors."