Maharashtra Congress chief sparks row; avers 'Punjab farmers showed PM Modi his place'

Stoking a controversy on Wednesday, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole made light of PM Modi's security breach in Punjab by dubbing it a "drama". Addressing the media, he asserted that the PM had deliberately created this situation to divert attention from the lack of crowds at his Ferozepur rally. Justifying the road blockade which potentially put PM Modi's life in danger, Patole contended that farmers had shown the latter his place. Moreover, the Congress leader alleged that the PM had himself flouted the SPG protocol. 

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole remarked, "The PM had to go by the SPG route. But the chairs were empty there. And PM Narendra Modi started doing drama. It is his habit. He himself changed the route and faced security lacuna. BJP is demanding that Punjab CM should resign. This is a way of garnering sympathy. In reality, the PM committed the mistake of breaking the rules of SPG. That's why we demand that Narendra Modi should resign."

"The PM called the protesters against the three black laws which were not in farmers' interest 'andolanjeevis, terrorists, Naxalites and Khalistanis'. He says that I am not responsible for the death of 700 farmers. The farmers are still pained that the country has seen a PM who humiliates the farmers for the first time. As a result, farmers of Punjab showed him his right place. Congress is with farmers," he added. 

PM Modi's security breach

In a massive controversy ahead of the Punjab polls, PM Modi was forced to skip the Ferozepur rally as his security was compromised after arriving in the state. He was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of projects worth more than Rs.42,750 crore including the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, four-laning of Amritsar-Una section, Mukerian-Talwara New Broad Gauge railway line, PGI Satellite Centre at Ferozepur and two medical colleges at Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. On his first visit to Punjab after the repeal of the farm laws, he was set to flag off the campaign for the BJP-Punjab Lok Congress-SAD(Sanyukt) alliance. 

The problem started when the PM decided to travel to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainwala by road instead of the air route due to poor weather. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, a major lapse was observed in the PM's security around 30 km from the destination as his convoy was stuck for 15-20 minutes due to a road blockade. In wake of additional security not being deployed by the Punjab government as a part of the contingency plan, the MHA added that PM Modi headed back to the Bathinda Airport. Moreover, it sought a detailed report from the Congress government in Punjab and demanded strict action.