Hashtags, yagyas, protests — BJP goes all out on PM security breach issue

BJP squarely blames Congress, which is in power in Punjab, over the issue

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with Assam BJP President Bhabesh Kalita during a ceremony for well being of PM Narendra Modi, in Guwahati, on January 06, 2022.

From strong statements and attacks on the Congress to holding ceremonies of the ‘Mahamrityunjaya Yagya’ (a consecration aimed at removing any threat to life against a particular individual), the BJP and Ministers of the Union government ratcheted up the issue of the breach of security during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Punjab on Wednesday.

Minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur termed the security breach “not just a lapse, but a major lapse in the Prime Minister’s security in Punjab”. Whatever steps needed to be taken for justice would be taken, he stated.

“After gathering necessary information, whatever steps, as big and stringent as they may be, will be taken… I believe the country’s judicial system gives justice to all and in the case of this whatever steps need to be taken will be taken,” he said while briefing the media about Cabinet decisions.

The BJP and some of his Cabinet colleagues squarely blamed the Congress , which is in power in Punjab, over the issue. “Prime Minister Modi was in Punjab where the Congress is in power and his security was compromised. It is utterly shameful that Congress people are saying bad words about him,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said at a public meeting in Uttarkashi.

Minister of State at the Prime Minister’s Office Dr. Jitendra Singh described on his Twitter account the protests carried out by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (youth wing of the BJP) in Dehradun as a “BJYM protest at Dehradun Congress Bhavan against the Congress conspiracy to kill PM Modi.” He appended the hashtag #ModiJiJiyoHazaroSaal (Modi may you live a 1000 years) to the tweet.

 

Senior BJP leaders in various States carried out ‘Mahamritynunajaya Yagya’ in various temples, with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his Tripura counterpart Biplab Kumar Deb leading in this effort.

Sources in the party said the issue was in a manner of the “ main bhi chowkidar hoon [I am also a chowkidar]” campaign that Mr. Modi ran during the 2019 polls. Party social media followers have been changing their handles to “I am Modi” to identify with him.