PM's Ferozepur rally cancelled over security row; MHA blames lack of prep by Punjab gov't

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first scheduled rally in Ferozepur, Punjab was cancelled after a lack of security arrangements saw the PM's convoy have to sit in traffic for over 15 minutes due to protestors blocking the road, a statement released by the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The Prime Minister was scheduled to the Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala from Bhatinda airport but the trip was arranged by road instead due to poor weather and visibility issues.

"However, around 30kms away from the National Martyrs' Memorial, when the convoy reached flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protestors. The PM was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of PM," the MHA detailed in a release to ANI.

The protestors are speculated to have been farmers agitating over the now-repealed farm laws bill. It was then decided to return the PM to Bhatinda airport following the increased risk of security issues, the statement said.

"...Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda airport," the statement concluded, also saying that a report has been sought from the Punjab government to fix responsibility for this lapse and for action to be taken.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Jagat Prakash Nadda alleged that the Punjab government had tried "all possible tricks" in order to foil the rally at Ferozepur as they feared their upcoming defeat in the assembly polls.

"To make matters worse, CM Channi refused to get on the phone to either address the matter or solve it. The tactics used by the Congress government in Punjab would pain any one who believes in democratic principles," the BJP chief tweeted.

In addition to the election rally, PM Modi was scheduled to inaugurate development projects worth ₹42,750 crore, including the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway; four laning of Amritsar-Una section and Mukerian-Talwara New Broad Gauge railway line. The laying of a foundation stone for the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER)'s satellite centre in Ferozepur was also to be conducted today.