On Wednesday, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani once again questioned Congress on the lapse. “Who sought to benefit in the Congress party from the breach of the prime minister’s security? Who in the Punjab government continued to deliberately ignore the threats to the prime minister’s security,” Smriti questioned Congress during a press conference at the BJP headquarters.
Smriti’s conference followed the appointment of an inquiry committee, headed by judge Indu Malhotra, to investigate the lapse. Smriti had earlier questioned the Congress’s role in the lapse on January 5 in another conference.
She also said that in an interview, Congress general secretary and the party’s UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had said that Punjab CM Charanjit Channi briefed her about the lapse. “Why did the Punjab CM brief a private citizen (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) on the PM’s security protocol and the breach? Why is the private citizen, who is a part of the Gandhi family, an interested party,” Smriti said.
She also said that an expose by a news channel has revealed that the DGP of Punjab Police cleared safety norms on the route to be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“What is extremely disconcerting is that Punjab Police officials have highlighted how they continuously engaged with the Congress government and administration in Punjab to bring to light the threat to the security of the PM and his route,” she said.
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Published 12 January 2022, 16:44 IST