Modi's 'life threat' gimmick aimed at toppling govt: Punjab CM
Darpan News Desk IANS, 06 Jan, 2022 02:22 PM
Chandigarh, Jan 6 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'life threat' gimmick was aimed at toppling the democratically elected government in the state.
Addressing a gathering in Tanda in Hoshiarpur district after laying the foundation stone of development work, the Chief Minister said there was no threat to the life of the Prime Minister but he cancelled his programme on Wednesday because of the thin presence of people at the BJP's rally.
He said empty chairs would have greeted the Prime Minister due to which he went back to the national capital, citing the frivolous reason of a security threat.
Channi said the false pretext on which Modi cancelled his visit is a part of a larger conspiracy to defame Punjab and murder democracy in the state on the lines of what was done earlier in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chief Minister said how can the life of the Prime Minister be threatened if the protestors were more than a kilometre away from him.
He said at the place where Modi's cavalcade stopped not even a slogan was raised, then how was his life threatened.
Channi reminded the Prime Minister that Punjabis have sacrificed their lives for the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country, adding that they can never pose any danger to the life and security of the Prime Minister.
Channi said Modi is a respected leader of the nation but it doesn't behove a leader of his stature to indulge in such cheap theatricals.
He said the thin presence of people at the rally has exposed the poor position of the BJP in the state which is not going down well with its entire leadership.
The area has been cordoned off and additional forces have reached the spot. Police said the terrorists involved in firing have been trapped and an operation has been started by the police and security forces.
Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Anurag Thakur, Bhupender Yadav, V. Muraleedharan and Arjun Ram Meghwal held a joint press conference at the Shastri Bhavan here on Thursday and condemned the 'unruly' and 'violent' behaviour of the opposition parties led by the Congress.
Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states as well as where the party is in power as part of an alliance, including Tamil Nadu's M.K. Stalin (DMK), Maharashtra's Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena) and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren (JMM) will also be invited.
Besides, the All India Congress Committee, the Maharashtra and Mumbai verified Congress handles, that of Congress Legislative Party leader and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, Mumbai Congress President Bhai Jagtap, state party social media head Abhijeet Sapkal, and around 500 other leaders at various level have been blocked on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the wreckage of the state roadways bus that fell into a 500 metre deep gorge following the massive landslide was recovered this morning, rescuers said.
Senior Home Ministry officials on Thursday reviewed the status of the investigations in the two rape cases in Delhi with officials of the Delhi Police. The review was done on the instructions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the officials said.
