PM security lapse: A contested theatre in Punjab

In the name of protecting the supreme leader, all federal norms can be demolished, extraordinary measures justified, making parliamentary politics dysfunctional

Are we in the Indian version of the moment of the Reichstag fire? According to a report, Union minister Anurag Thakur on January 6 said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is gathering information on the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab, and "big and tough decisions" will be taken."

President Ram Nath Kovind thought it so serious as to meet with the PM and express his concern about the alleged security lapse. The vice president, too, has expressed deep anguish. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has taken a serious view of the incident and mulling action.

The Hindustan Times tells us, "The Centre, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), security experts and former senior police officers all stressed on the dangerous precedent set by the incident, with both the Union government and the BJP pointing to lapses by the Punjab police and the state government, and alleging that dirty politics was at play."

Also Read | PM security breach: MHA panel at Ferozepur; Punjab submits report to Centre, says FIR filed

"Today's Congress-made happening in Punjab is a trailer of how this party thinks and functions. Repeated rejections by the people have taken them to the path of insanity," tweeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Union minister Smriti Irani asked if information about the PM's route was leaked.

In an unprecedented move, the Centre is contemplating summoning Punjab police officers and using the SPG Act to penalise them. The Union cabinet and BJP machinery have plunged into action, smelling some sinister plan and deep conspiracy and crying for blood. It is not surprising that the media has joined the chorus.

What was the incident? Narendra Modi was slated to address a party rally but was held up for 15 minutes at a flyover. The Hindustan Times reports, "PM Modi was scheduled to address a rally in Ferozepur on January 5 and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than ₹42,750 crore. But the event was cancelled because of the security breach. After landing at the Bathinda airport, the prime minister was heading to a memorial in Hussainiwala when a road he took was blocked by some protesters. This forced the PM's convoy to spend about 15 -20 minutes on a flyover."

The Hindi media headlined the angry PM telling the Punjab police officers to thank their CM that he was returning alive. Obviously, without citing any source. The apologists of the PM who claim to be non-partisan are indignant: political differences apart, how can the security of the PM be compromised! There are explainers detailing the protocol to be followed when a PM is on the move. The PM is PM, after all!

Was there any attack? Was there even an angry crowd close to the heavily protected convoy of the PM? NO. The farmers were protesting. They have a democratic right under the constitution to do so. Could the PM's life have been endangered due to the protest?

The CM of Punjab has regretted the return of the PM but, in clear words, refuted the allegation of any security threat. He has claimed that efforts were on to clear the road, but the PM decided to return as he got information about the possibility of a low turnout at his rally. The Tribune has reported that barely 5,000 people came belying the BJP claim that five lakh would attend.

Also Read | PM Security breach: Punjab chief secretary submits report to Centre

Farmers were protesting. They feel aggrieved by the unresponsive attitude of the PM to their demands. Had his own party man, a governor, not told the nation that the PM had no word of regret for the death of 700 farmers who were part of the farmers' protest? Had he not, according to the governor, mockingly trivialised their death? Is it strange that this information did not trouble the conscience of those who want to portray his return due to the protest of the anguished farmers as a huge insult to the nation?

Is the PM above democratic engagements?

Can there be no protest when the PM is around? Is he above democratic engagements? After all, protests are part of this process. The near unanimity in the press and the commentariat that it was the duty of the state government to ensure that his route was sanitised of all protests is shocking and scary. Scary because in the name of protecting the supreme leader, all federal norms can be demolished, and extraordinary measures would be justified, making parliamentary politics dysfunctional.

It reminded me of an incident from my student life. We had planned to show black flags to Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister who was to address a rally at Patna's Gandhi maidan. Security was strict, and one could not possibly enter the venue with black flags. So, we got some gas balloons, tied black cloth pieces at their ends, put them in pockets and entered the meeting venue with coloured balloons in an apparently festive mood. We scattered in the meet. Our women comrades pushed their way to the front, and then we started releasing our balloons. Slowly the two dozen balloons with black flags were seen floating above the audience's heads. Not a sizeable number, but the alert police did not miss it. Soon, we were caught by the police and, after getting some thrashing, were pushed out of the meeting arena.

There was no hue and cry from the PM, who had taken a stone on her nose earlier and was herself steeled in protest politics. No communist conspiracy to kill the PM was discussed. We did not even face a criminal case.

Also Read | PM's security breach: Leave politics out, probe professionally

But we live in a different time when the PM is seen as above all democratic processes. Is it not pertinent to ask this simple question that the PM was going to a party rally? Was he going there as our PM or as a campaigner of his party? As a partisan man? Why were our resources being used for a partisan purpose?

It should also lead us to look back at all his public engagements. He has used all of them to create and deepen the divide in society. He is always, even on Independence Day and other national days, a campaigner who misuses public money to defame the opposition and civil society.

It is not only the opposition that he targets. He dog whistles violence against minorities. His recent speeches in Kashi, Meerut and Kutch are examples. With each of his speeches, the life of Muslims in this country becomes more uncertain. He mocks and dehumanises them but is never asked how he can do all this with their own money. After all, they also pay taxes to maintain him. But we never ask how he can use state-sponsored occasions for his ideological ends.

Previous claims of threats to PM's life

It is utter poverty of thought to treat the PM as beyond criticism, protest and reproach. A PM who always talks about a conspiracy to kill him should be heard with sceptical ears. In the name of saving the leader of the nation, he could himself curtail the liberty of his people. He creates an aura of the threats around him.

A journalist friend recounted the previous scares:

May 2018: Before the Karnataka polls, there was a claim of a sinister conspiracy hatched in Surat by Islamist radicals to target Modi. Apparently, it was based on a WhatsApp message and reportedly, Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad filed a chargesheet in Ankleshwar.

August 2018: five activists, including Sudha Bharadwaj, were arrested for Bhima-Koregaon violence on the claim that there was an anti-fascist plot to overthrow the government. The Pune police claimed that a letter was found on the laptop of Rona Wilson, one of the activists, detailing an assassination attempt to target Modi during his roadshows. No evidence was given.

February 2017: Just before the UP elections, Mau Superintendent of Police (SP) RK Singh claimed they had been informed about the PM's cavalcade under threat of attack with rocket launchers and explosives.

June 2017: Kerala DGP TP Senkumar claimed PM Modi faced a terrorist threat during his visit to Kochi to flag off the city's new metro rail. The DGP claimed a terror module was operating during his visit, but he could not elaborate.

November 2016: Soon after the demonetisation policy was announced, Delhi Police claimed to have received a call about an alleged plot to kill the PM. It ended up being a cat-and-mouse game to understand who used the SIM card in question. Its Special Cell is still investigating the case.

May 2015: A year after coming to power, Modi was set to speak at a rally in Mathura, but a night before his speech, it was reported that UP Police got a WhatsApp message about a threat to kill the PM.

October 2013: six persons were killed and 89 injured when a series of blasts rocked Gujarat CM Modi's Hunkaar Rally in Patna. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed the banned SIMI was behind the attack in the supplementary chargesheet filed in April 2014. Why did Modi insist on carrying on with the rally, putting the audience's lives in danger?

2005: Gujarat Police claimed Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi planned to kill Modi. They were shot dead along with associate Tulsiram at a farmhouse in Ahmedabad. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet said it was a staged encounter. Police officer DG Vanzara was involved.

2004: Ishrat Jahan, Javed Ghulam Sheikh, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were shot dead by Gujarat Police Crime Branch as allegedly they were going to assassinate CM Modi for his involvement in the 2002 riots. In 2009, a magistrate called these extra-judicial killings. DG Vanzara was involved here, too.

The current threat is different

So, he comes across as the most threatened political figure. However, this time it is different. We need to see it in the context of the retreat of the PM, who was forced by the farmers to withdraw the new farm laws. As Pritam Singh warns us, the BJP would leave no stone unturned to somehow capture Punjab, which it cannot do through normal competitive politics.

He writes, "The aim of the BJP's counteroffensive is to create a pro-BJP government in Punjab with the BJP as the dominant party, instead of being a minority partner as it was in the Akali/BJP coalition (2007-2017). Such a government – with a Sikh chief minister and a Sikh police chief on the pattern of the Beant Singh-KPS Gill model during the Congress regime (1992-97) – would be used to break up farmers' organisations in Punjab. Once Punjab's farmers' organisations are destroyed, the BJP is confident that the broader farmers' movement would be crippled."

It is crucial to fulfilling its promise to the corporates who were offered India's agricultural sector on a platter through these laws: "From the perspective of defeating farmers' resistance to agro-business capitalism aligned with Hindutva, winning the 2022 election in Punjab is even more important than in UP. If the BJP loses UP but wins Punjab, it will have two more years to regain the upper hand in UP in the 2024 General Election. However, if it loses in Punjab – even if it wins in UP – its agenda to advance agro-business interests would be effectively defeated."

We need to see the theatre of this threat to the PM's life in this context. The BJP has again painted it in Hindu colour by organising Mahamrityunjaya Japas across the country. It is a perilous moment and can be life-threatening for this sad, sinking country.

(The writer teaches at Delhi University)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.

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