When the PM’s convoy reached a flyover in Piarewala village, just 8 km from the rally venue and 30 km from Hussainiwala, it got stuck there for about 15-20 minutes as some protesters had blocked the road by parking vehicles on it. He was then driven back to Bathinda airport, where, before boarding his aircraft he reportedly told officials, “Apne CM ko thanks kehna ki mein Bhatinda airport tak zinda laut paaya (Thank your CM that I was able to return to Bhatinda airport alive).”Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, however, denied any security lapse, and said the PM’s plan to travel by road was made at the last minute. Speaking on a local TV channel, he said, “There has been no security lapse. I had been up late last night overseeing the security arrangements for his rally. The PM’s road plans were made at the last minute, he was earlier supposed to travel by helicopter.”The chief minister further said, “They had put 70,000 chairs (at the rally) but only 700 people came. So they made the excuse of rain and the other excuse…”Reacting to the development, founder of Punjab Lok Congress and former Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh demanded imposition of President’s rule in Punjab. “The Punjab CM and Home Minister, who could not provide security to their PM, must resign,” he tweeted.Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma demanded resignation of CM Charanjit Singh Channi and called the protest a “state-sponsored stir”. “BJP workers’ buses were also targeted. Police lathicharged our workers who were on the way to the rally,” he added.BJP chief JP Nadda had earlier lashed out at the Chief Minister, alleging that he refused to take phone calls.
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