Citing threat perception, Oppn party seeks upgraded cover for its pm candidate, but govt says he is already well protected .
The BJP has accused the Centre and the Bihar government of failure to prevent Patna blasts which, they said, were “aimed at liquidating” Narendra Modi and demanded that its prime ministerial candidate’s security be upgraded.
However, the Centre rejected the BJP’s allegations and said adequate and required security has been given to Modi, ruling out SPG cover on the grounds that ‘it requires a legal amendment’.
The BJP parliamentary board at its meeting on Tuesday evening issued a statement demanding that it is the responsibility of the Central government to provide Modi “adequate security”.
The meeting, which was attended by all the members, took note of the serious security lapses at the October 27 public rally that Modi addressed in Patna. The blasts at the venue resulted in the death of five persons. The statement said, “This was an attempt to liquidate the BJP leaders present at the rally. It was an attempt to inflict fatal injuries on the lakhs of people present at the rally. Had the leaders and the audience not acted with exemplary restraint, panic and a resultant stampede could not have been avoided.”
The party’s highest decision-making forum also noted that Modi was not just the chief minister of Gujarat but he was also the party’s PM candidate. The parliamentary board noted that it viewed the attack at the Patna rally “as an attack on Indian democracy” and that this was a result of gross negligence on the part of central and Bihar governments.
Meanwhile, reacting to BJP’s charge, union minister of state for home RPN Singh said security for Modi has already been tightened. “We have given him (Modi) NSG security which is very high level of security. We have also ordered conducting advance security drill before his visit to any place,” Singh said. He said Modi’s security is full proof and the government regularly updates it based on the assessment of various intelligence agencies. There is no question of giving him SPG cover. SPG is meant only for the prime minister, his family members and former prime ministers.”
With inputs from agencies
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