The Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh has warned that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be accountable for any security lapses for their prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at his Bahriach rally on Friday.
While the BJP continues to argue with the central government over providing Modi with extra security cover as he is being targeted by Indian Mujahideen terrorists, the District Magistrate of Bahraich has blamed the political party for failing to co-coordinate with the arrangements at the venue.
"The Gujarat police had written to UP that the helipad should be ready 48 hours before Mr Modi arrives, but it is not ready. A seven-foot barricade around the stage to restrict access has not come up yet. The general arrangement is also very poor," Kinjal Singh, DM Bahraich, told NDTV.
She added that there were 'serious lapses in arrangement' and that the Akhilesh Yadav government had provided a 'conditional' clearance for the rally. "We can't deny permission for a private event," Singh said.
Modi will address the rally in Bahraich, adjacent to the India-Nepal border, the town from where IM co-founder Yasin Bhatkal was arrested.
The Gujarat CM was targeted at his Patna rally in Bihar last month by the same militant organisation. Six people were killed and more than 100 injured during a series of seven bomb blasts in Patna.
The BJP blamed negligence by the Bihar government and Centre for the attack. The party has demanded Security Protection Group (SPG), which currently handles the security for Prime Minister of India and former PM's families, for Modi.
Bihar Home minister RPN Singh had hit back saying, "Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had a maximum threat perception when the BJP was in power. But the security they provided him was just sub inspector level. Subsequently he was assassinated. So they shouldn't talk about security".
However, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javedkar countered the accusations. "RPN Singh get your facts right.When Rajiv was attacked & killed by terrorists,it was not NDA govt but Chandrashekhar govt supported by Cong. Cong deliberately diverted the issue of security to #Modi instead of answering the security lapses in Patna," he tweeted on Thursday.
Modi is protected by Gujarat police along with the National Security Guard, whose commandos are offered to chief ministers who are high-risk targets like J Jayalalithaa. the Home Ministry recently also provided him with Advance Security Liaison (ASL) facility like PM Manmohan Singh and VVIPs alike.
