Taking a tough stance, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday spoke with Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and expressed her displeasure over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach on Wednesday.
In a major security lapse, the prime minister's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters at Ferozepur in Punjab on Wednesday. He returned from the poll-bound state without attending any event, including a rally.
According to reports, the Congress chief said that there PM's security breach was a 'big lapse' and accountability has to be fixed by taking actions against officials responsible for this.
President Ramnath Kovind had also expressed concern over the issue. PM met the President and briefed him about the entire issue.
However, the BJP took a swipe at the Congress over Sonia Gandhi's reported direction to Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to take action in case of any lapse in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security, saying the nationwide anger has prompted this response from the party.
Channi told a news channel that the Congress president had conveyed to him the message that the prime minister represents the entire country and full priority should be given to his security. If there is any lapse, punishment should be given, he said, quoting her.
BJP leader and Union minister Smriti Irani said Gandhi's comments were an admission that the Congress government in Punjab is to blame for the breach in Modi's security during his visit to Punjab on Wednesday.
"But is it the case that by giving such a direction to a pawn, the family has washed its hands of," she asked. Irani said after "celebrating" for over 24 hours the breach in Modi's security, the Congress has woken up.
The nationwide anger over the way his security was endangered by the Punjab government has stirred the "political soul", she told reporters in Hindi.
People's prayers and concerns expressed at temples and public places on Thursday have prompted such a response from Sonia Gandhi, Irani said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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