Chandigarh, January 5: BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Wednesday blasted the Congress-led Government in Punjab for a major security lapse ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Ferozepur and said that both Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and the state's Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu are acting on the instructions of Pakistan's intelligence agency, Inter-services Intelligence (ISI).

Chugh squarely blamed Channi and Sidhu for joining hands with subversive and anti-national forces to foil the democratic right of the Prime Minister and the BJP to address public meetings. Chugh further held Channi and Sidhu responsible for causing security threats to the Prime Minister. Also Read | COVID-19 Surge in India: Over 6.3 Times Increase in Coronavirus Cases in Past 8 Days, Says Health Ministry.

"Channi and Sidhu are dancing to the tunes of Pakistan ISI. Time has come for Punjab to wake up to nefarious designs of the two," said Chugh. He further said, "It is a matter of shame for the State government for not allowing the Prime Minister to address the public meeting." Also Read | Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's 21 Staff Members Test COVID-19 Positive.

"It was the responsibility of the Congress Government to ensure law and order for the PM's visit but entire Punjab is hanging its head in shame today," he added.

He further said that the Prime Minister had been always thinking of the welfare of farmers and it was with due respect to them that he decided to repeal the agriculture laws.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab's Ferozepur was called off citing "major security lapse". The PM was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes due to the road being blocked by some protesters, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.

The MHA has taken cognizance of this serious security lapse has sought a detailed report from the state government. PM Modi was scheduled to visit Ferozepur on Wednesday to lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 42,750 crore.

According to the statement the PM had landed at Bathinda this morning from where he was to go to National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. Due to rain and poor visibility, the PM waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear.

Observing no improvement in the weather conditions, the decision to visit the Memorial via road was taken after which PM Modi proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the DGP Punjab Police.

"Around 30 km away from National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the PM's convoy reached a 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," said the statement by the MHA.

"The PM's schedule and travel plan were communicated well in advance to Punjab Government. As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready. Also in view of the contingency plan, Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed," further said the statement.

The Prime Minister headed back to Bathinda airport after the security lapse. "The Ministry of Home Affairs taking cognizance of this serious security lapse has sought a detailed report from the state government. The State Government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action," the statement said.

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also announced from the stage at Ferozepur that PM Modi canceled his scheduled visit to Ferozepur to address a rally "due to some reasons".

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