PM security breach: BJP meets governor for sacking of Punjab home minister, DGP

Chandigarh, Jan 6: Punjab BJP leaders met the Governor here on Thursday, demanding the dismissal of the state’s home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and the police chief over the security breach during the prime minister’s visit to Punjab.

The opposition party also said it did not have any expectations from the committee set up by the state government to probe Wednesday’s incident in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s convoy was stuck for several minutes on a flyover due to a farmers’ protest.

"We reject this committee. The chief minister is the conspirator of this conspiracy. What will this committee set up by his government do?" Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma told reporters after meeting Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

The Punjab government has constituted a two-member high level committee to conduct a "thorough probe" into lapses during the PM’s Wednesday trip to Punjab. The PM’s convoy was stranded on a flyover in Ferozepur when it was 30 kms away from National Martyrs Museum in Hussainiwala, where he was going, due to a blockade by protesters on Wednesday. He returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, or a rally.

Former Punjab Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, who switched over to BJP from Congress last month, said responsibility for the lapses lies with Punjab government. "It is not a small incident. A high-level probe should be held into entire incident," said Sodhi, who was part of the BJP delegation to meet Governor. He said a central agency should probe the entire incident.