As seen in Punjab, the Congress is brazenly undermining the office of the Prime Minister and by doing so, also damaging the integrity of our democratic institutions
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.”
This famous passage, written by Taylor Caldwell in the early 20th century, sums up the essence of how the Congress, once the grand old party of India, has gone downhill in the last seven decades. The terminal decline is not limited only to debilitating electoral debacles in the last seven years, but the downhill journey is more about the ethical lapse within the party. Only a party that has no political propriety will choose to undermine the office of a democratically elected prime minister and, worse still, make brazen attempts to justify it.
Let us get straight to the moot issue. The Prime Minister’s itinerary and the minutest security details are very meticulously discussed, finalised and documented by the Central and state agencies in close coordination with the SPG. In a “major security lapse”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s convoy was stranded on Bhatinda flyover, en route to Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district, due to a blockade by protesters on 5 January 2022. The incident forced the prime minister to cancel his rally and other development-oriented projects of over Rs 42,000 crore that were to be flagged off in poll-bound Punjab. While words like security lapse and security breach were repeatedly used by various stakeholders, post the 5 January incident, the hard truth is that the SPG is only responsible, as per the Blue Book, for proximate security, which means the immediate cordon around the PM. The SPG elite commando force forms the innermost security cordon around the PM wherever he goes, but even the perimeter of that cordon is decided by the respective state government when the prime minister visits any given state.
While the SPG has the responsibility for prime minister’s security, given that the perimeter routes and the areas which the PM visits are secured by the concerned state police, it is clear that Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, his entire state machinery and the DGP of Punjab failed miserably in performing their duties. What made it even worse was Channi’s callous attitude, post the security sabotage. Why did the CM fail to take ownership of the massive security failure surrounding the Prime Minister? Is he fit to be the CM of a border state? The answer is a big No!
That the prime minister’s security was not merely breached in this case, but that there was a sabotage bordering on criminal conspiracy, is evident from the fact that within less than 100 metres of the buffer zone, a large group of protesters had gathered. Who allowed these miscreants from BKU-Krantikari, which had been banned in 2014 for having links with Maoists, to gather there? Who leaked the itinerary of the prime minister’s Punjab visit? If it takes between 45 minutes and an hour to mobilise protesters, as is being suggested by various police officials; how is it that for an hour when these protesters were being mobilised, the Punjab Police remained unaware? Why did the DGP give wrong inputs to the SPG that the area from which prime minister’s convoy was slated to pass through, had been properly sanitised? Why did chief minister Channi not respond to umpteen efforts that were made via telephone calls and otherwise, post the dangerous breach?
The buck stops at the doorstep of the Chief Minister in matters pertaining to law and order in that state, as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. What kept chief minister Channi so busy that he chose not to respond to phone calls from the PMO?
On the defensive, the Punjab CM at a press conference denied there was any security lapse or political motive behind it and said his government was ready for an inquiry. Let no one forget that Channi in the last few months has showcased why he is a rudderless, clueless and incompetent CM, unfit to govern a state like Punjab, which shares approximately a 366-km-long border with Pakistan.
Right from the word go, Channi flouted every rule in the rulebook. Why did Channi, the Punjab DGP or Punjab’s Chief Secretary, who directly reports to the CM, not receive Prime Minister Modi at the airport? Channi’s lame excuse that he had been in close contact with a Covid-positive person and hence he avoided receiving the PM, is a snarky lie. If Covid protocol is indeed something Channi was so worried about, why did he address an over 30-minute long press conference without even wearing a mask the very same day? Why was he seen hobnobbing with reporters from a media-house within 24 hours of the breach?
On 5 January 2022, barely 14 days prior to the prime minister’s visit, there was a powerful bomb blast within the premises of the Ludhiana Court. Also, Ferozepur in the last few months has been the victim of drone droppings and tiffin bomb blasts. Given that chief minister Channi was well aware of the hostile scenario prevalent in and around Ferozepur, why did he not ensure stringent security? Security apparatus should have, in fact, been on a war footing ahead of the prime minister’s visit.
How is the prime minister’s security planned? An Advanced Security Liaison (ASL) is carried out by the SPG which requires maintaining every minute detail of the Prime Minister’s itinerary. This exercise involves officials of the Intelligence Bureau in the concerned state, police officials and the district magistrate of the concerned state, the DGP of the concerned State. Whenever the PM visits a state, the local police maintain this minute-to-minute programme under the complete supervision and knowledge of the CM of the concerned state. Hence, for Channi to feign ignorance about prime minister’s itinerary and any change in plans thereof smack of his incompetence and devious sense of entitlement bordering on recklessness.
As part of the ASL, the entire route of the prime minister’s entourage and the venue is supposed to be completely sanitised by the state police force and clearance is issued by the state DGP, who also gives necessary inputs to the SPG. Other safety measures by the state police entail anti-sabotage checks, frisking of people who would be allowed to sit in close proximity to the PM and related measures Clearly, Punjab DGP, his team and chief minister Channi failed woefully on all these counts.
Broad guidelines have been laid down in what is referred to as the SPG’s Blue Book. Three days before any planned visit, the SPG officials carry out a mandatory ASL with everyone involved in securing the event. Once the prime minister’s itinerary is discussed and an ASL report is prepared, all security arrangements are made by the concerned state, keeping the SPG informed. According to the laid-down rules, an alternative arrangement during a VVIP’s visit has to be ensured. Officials in the know of the rules say that “if a VVIP is scheduled to travel by air within a state, an alternate route through land has also to be ensured in case of exigencies”. The internal memos written by ADG law and order, Punjab, to senior state police officials on the 1, 2 and 4 January 2022 clearly shows that a contingency plan had been made in case the PM chose to travel by road. Why then did chief minister Channi lie that there was no alternative contingency plan and that the security lapse happened as the PM had not informed about a change in his plan?
Several contingency plans are also prepared in case of an emergency situation, forcing a last-minute change in the prime minister’s itinerary. But in normal circumstances, route and security deployment is pre-decided by the state police force and shared with the SPG. During public meetings, rallies and road shows, apart from policemen, an SP is deputed to post men in plainclothes for security. In case of an air travel, at least one alternative road route (if not more) is kept ready. At least 24 hours before the prime minister’s arrival, a full rehearsal is also carried out from the airport/airstrip to the venue to avoid any untoward incident and to ensure a safe visit of the PM. It has emerged now that a day in advance a rehearsal was carried out on 4 January 2022. How did the security sabotage happen despite the rehearsal?
The Union Home Ministry, besides summoning the Punjab DGP, has asked the Punjab government to fix responsibility for the lapses and take strict action. “The tactics used by the Congress government in Punjab would pain anyone who believes in democratic principles,” said BJP national president JP Nadda in a tweet.
In a viral video, a BKU-Krantikari leader Surjeet Singh Phool can be seen addressing some protesters and instigating them, with the police constabulary watching as mute spectators. Why? Will chief minister Channi answer and bear ownership rather than simply playing to the galleries? In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security sabotage issue, the Supreme Court has asked the Punjab government for communication and travel records to be preserved. The court said, “We deem it appropriate to direct the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court to secure and preserve the travel records of Prime Minister Narendra Modi… We direct Punjab police authorities, SPG and other agencies to cooperate and provide necessary assistance to seal the entire record.”
In the final analysis, the most important question is: Why is the Congress brazenly undermining the office of the Prime Minister and by doing so, also undermining the integrity of our democratic institutions? Well, Rahul Gandhi, a full-time vacationer and part-time politician, who is being given tough competition in the area of theatrics by his colleague from Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu, has a lot to explain. It is said that the electorate is blessed with a great memory and sense of discretion and Sidhu’s brazen attempts to defile the office of the PM, with his humiliating utterances, showcase why Sidhu is unfit to be in public life.
This discussion won’t be complete without looking into the myriad, mysterious deaths of top politicians over the decades, that show the Congress in poor light. Be it Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s mysterious death under detention in 1953, the death of former Punjab Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon in 1965, Lal Bahadur Shastri’s demise in 1966, a day after he signed the Tashkent agreement, the death of LN Mishra who was Railways Minister under Indira Gandhi in 1975, or for that matter the mysterious death of Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia in a chopper crash near Mainpuri in 2001, the Congress has a lot to explain and account for.
Coming back to Punjab, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed immense grace and displayed exemplary dignity, in the face of grave provocation and challenging circumstances, the Congress has dug its own grave by mocking democratic institutions. Sikhs are highly patriotic people whose valiant sacrifices are not lost on anyone. The diabolical attempt, therefore, by chief minister Channi, his rudderless establishment, his clueless political masters, and the Congress at large to defame the people of Punjab is something history will never take kindly to.
The anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984 till date remains one of the most horrific legacies of the Congress. In contrast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always shown great reverence to Sikhs and Sikhism. Be it bringing back three copies of the Guru Granth Sahib in a special flight from Kabul to New Delhi in August 2021 or announcing the decision to repeal farm laws on 19 November 2021 on the day of Guru Nanak Jayanti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s love for Sikh traditions and culture is amply evident. The New India under Modi is resilient, unputdownable and unwilling to be bullied by a family that has outlived its utility in Indian politics. Dynasties are passe! Period!
Sanju Verma is an economist, national spokesperson of the BJP and the author of The Modi Gambit. Views expressed are personal.