The reason for the security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab was the Punjab Police itself, not the farmers. The farmers were going to protest at the district headquarters. They did not even know that Modi was going to Ferozepur by road.
The Bathinda-Firozpur National Highway was jammed near Pyareana village and Modi's convoy got stuck on the flyover of this highway. The jam was caused by the Punjab Police, as the farmers were going to protest at the Ferozepur DC office as per the schedule. The police stopped them and due to this, the highway was blocked. For this reason, the PM had to stand on the road for 20 minutes.
Farmers did not intend to block the highway
When Bhaskar talked to the leader of the farmers' organization protesting on the highway, it was revealed that he was not even aware that the Prime Minister was going to pass through this route. Surjit Singh Phool, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Krantikari, who is leading the farmers who had gathered near Pyareana village, said they had no program or intention to block the highway or endanger the security of the PM.
Programs of protest were fixed at different places during Modi's visit.
Phool said that after the announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Ferozepur rally, 10 different farmers' organizations of Punjab held a meeting in Barnala. It was decided in this meeting that on January 5, when the PM would be in Punjab, members of all farmers' organizations would protest at different district headquarters and burn his effigies. Apart from the media, information about this program was also given to the administrative officers in all the districts.
According to Phool, farmers from several villages of Ferozepur gathered at Ferushah Anaj Mandi as per the program fixed around 9 am on January 5 and from there headed for the Ferozepur DC office under the leadership of farmer leader Baldev Singh Jeera. At around 11 am, when a group of about 700 farmers reached near Pyareana village on the Bathinda-Firozpur highway, the Punjab Police present there stopped them. Even after the farmers told that they were going to protest at the DC office, the Punjab Police did not allow them to go ahead.
Farmers had also warned on stopping
According to Phool, the policemen present on the spot told the farmers that they were going to disturb the PM's rally, so they could not be allowed to go ahead. Police officers said that if farmers want, they can protest on the side of the highway here (near Pyareana village). On this, Baldev Singh Jeera also warned the policemen that if his batch was not allowed to proceed, then he would not allow the buses of BJP workers to pass from here. The policemen did not heed Jeera's warning.
Angered by the attitude of the policemen, the members of his group sat on the highway, due to which the road was closed. More than 100 buses of BJP workers going to the rally got stuck. Later, the police officers started taking the buses of BJP workers forward by diverting the route.
The police did not even tell that the PM was coming from the road.
According to Surjit Singh Phool, the highway closed at 11 am. Even an hour later, none of the Punjab Police officials told his batch even once that Prime Minister Modi was going to go to Ferozepur by this route. The farmers knew till then that Prime Minister Modi would reach Ferozepur by helicopter from Bathinda, where 3 helipads have been made for them.
Suddenly said at 12 o'clock - vacate the highway, Modi is coming
Phool told that at around 12 noon, some officers of Punjab Police suddenly asked his batch to vacate the highway, saying about the arrival of PM Modi. He could not believe the words of the policemen because the PM was scheduled to reach Ferozepur by helicopter. By that time, news of Modi reaching Hussainiwala also started coming on some social media platforms. In such a situation, his group felt that the policemen might be lying to the BJP workers to get the buses because the PM's rally was about 10 kilometers ahead of this highway.
Surjit Singh Phool clarified that he had no program to block the highway or block the PM's path. If the Punjab Police had not stopped their group from going to protest at the Ferozepur DC office near Pyareana village, then this situation would not have happened.
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