MHA constitutes 3-member committee to enquire into PM Modi's security lapse in Punjab

New Delhi, Jan 6: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a committee to enquire into the lapses in the security arrangements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ferozepur in Punjab on January 5, which has triggered a political blame game.

"The three-member committee will be led by Shri Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat and comprising of Shri Balbir Singh, Joint Director, IB and Shri S. Suresh, IG, SPG," read a tweet from the Spokesperson of Ministry of Home Affairs.

The committee is advised to submit the report at the earliest, the statement added.

In what the Centre described as a "major security lapse", Modi's convoy was stranded Wednesday on a flyover due to a blockade by farm protesters in Ferozepur. He returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally, and the Centre blamed the Congress government in Punjab for the breach.

CM Channi, however, claimed that a last-minute change of travel plans by Modi led to the situation. On Thursday, his government constituted a two-member committee to conduct a "thorough probe" into the incident.

The panel of retired Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Principal Secretary, Home Affairs and Justice, Anurag Verma will submit its report on the "lapses" in three days.

The Supreme Court has also taken note of the matter as the BJP and Congress continued to spar over it. BJP leaders offered prayers at temples in different parts of the country for a long life for the PM.

They also posted their wishes and prayers for Modi on Twitter, using the hashtag "LongLivePMModi". From Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, political leaders weighed in on the controversy, largely following their party line.

Meanwhile, PM Modi also met President Ram Nath Kovind to apprise him of the Wednesday incident. "President Ram Nath Kovind met Prime Minister Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today and received from him a first-hand account of the security breach in his convoy in Punjab yesterday," the President's secretariat said on Twitter.

"The President expressed his concerns about the serious lapse," it added. Earlier, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu spoke to the PM and expressed his deep concern over the incident.