The Akali Dal on Wednesday said the “major security lapse” that cut short Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Punjab visit reflected the “total collapse” of the law and order machinery, and claimed that Charanjit Singh Channi has no moral right now to continue as the chief minister.
Modi returned without inaugurating development projects and addressing a planned rally in Ferozepur due to a road blockade on the route by protesting farmers.The Centre has blamed the state government for failing to keep the road clear, and endangering the PM’s safety.
“The major security lapse which occurred en route Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Hussainiwala in Ferozepur is reflective of the total collapse of the law and order machinery in Punjab and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is solely to blame for this crisis,” Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal said.”The incident makes it clear that there is no government whatsoever in the state,” Badal, whose party is a former ally of the BJP, said in a statement.
He alleged that infighting in the Punjab Congress has made the chief minister totally ineffective. The situation now is that there is no clear command over the law and order machinery and different Congress leaders speak in different voices, he claimed.Sukhbir Badal said the situation was of Punjab’s ruling party’s own making.“In its desperate bid to register false vendetta-driven cases against the top SAD leadership, the Congress party has wrecked the police force as well as its chain of command,” he said, referring also to the change of DGP’s in quick succession.
He alleged that S Chattopadhyay, who is the state police chief now, was appointed to the post despite being ineligible for it.“This politicization of the once professional police force under the Congress party is responsible for the current state of affairs,” he said.He claimed that it is now clear that Channi is “incompetent and incapable” of running the state,” adding that the CM did not have any moral right to continue in office.He said it is common knowledge that the ‘rule of the jungle” prevailed in Punjab and nobody was safe.“However, it was least expected that the Congress government would fail in providing a smooth and safe route to the prime minister during his visit to the state. Its failure to do so has made it clear that it is incapable of ensuring the safety of the common man as well as peace in the state,” he said.The Union Home Ministry has said that after the “major security lapse”, it was decided that the PM’s convoy should return.
The ministry also asked the Punjab government to fix responsibility for the lapse and take strict action, an MHA statement earlier said.
