President Kovind, PM Modi discuss Punjab security breach for 30 minutes

“President Ram Nath Kovind met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today and received from him a first-hand account of the security breach in his convoy in Punjab yesterday. The President expressed his concerns about the serious lapse,” Kovind’s twitter handle said.

President Ram Nath Kovind met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today and received from him a first-hand account of the security breach in his convoy in Punjab yesterday. The President expressed his concerns about the serious lapse. pic.twitter.com/lzvAuriuGb

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 6, 2022

The President, who had dialled Modi on Wednesday after the incident took place in Punjab, invited him to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday morning. The meeting took place at 1pm.

“The Prime Minister briefed the president about what he experienced and how it happened. It was a one-to-one meeting,” said a government source.

Sources said the President was concerned because “it was not an ordinary security lapse or breach”. “What the Prime Minister has is constitutionally mandated security and there’s a lot of detailing and preparation for it,” said a source.

The Prime Minister’s rally in Punjab’s Ferozepur was cancelled after his convoy got stranded on a flyover in Bathinda for 15-20 minutes when protesting farmers blocked the route of his cavalcade headed to the National Martyrs Memorial at the Hussainiwala border with Pakistan.

BJP leaders have accused the state government of deliberately creating a scenario “where the Prime Minister is brought to harm”. Modi had to skip his election rally in Ferozpur where he was also expected to lay the foundation stone for development projects worth Rs 42,750 crore.