Centre rules out SPG cover for Narendra Modi

New Delhi: The Central government on Wednesday ruled out Special Protection Group (SPG) cover for BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi saying that the Gujarat Chief Minister already enjoys NSG cover.

Speaking to media, Minister of State for Home Affairs RPN Singh said that the government provides security to people as per threat perception.
The BJP had on Tuesday said that the security of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was the responsibility of the Centre.
The party accused both Bihar and the Centre of “monumental failure” in providing adequate security to Modi during the party’s “hunkaar” rally in Patna on October 27 when a series of low-intensity bomb blasts claimed seven lives.

A statement issued by BJP’s parliamentary board after its meeting in New Delhi said that the “murderous attack” was an attempt to liquidate the BJP leaders present at the rally.

The party accused the government of intelligence failure and being soft on terror. “It was an attempt to inflict fatal injuries on the people present at the rally. Had the leaders and the audience not acted with restraint, panic and resultant stampede would not have been avoided,” the statement said.

The party said that it viewed the incident as an attack on Indian democracy.
“It is a failed attempt to intimidate the BJP which is attracting an unprecedented support from the people across the country,” the statement said.

It said that the Central and Bihar governments were grossly negligent in providing security to Modi. It said that Bihar Police refused the protocol of Advance Security Liaison (ASL) with the Gujarat Police on the pretext the Central government had not required this.

“The venue was not sanitized. No anti-sabotage tests were conducted. Explosives could freely enter the venue,” it said.

The party said recovery of bombs at the Gandhi Maidan and later in Ranchi establishes that a well-networked module of terrorist was operating in the region.

“It was an undetected module, indicating an intelligence failure. It is disturbing that despite this monumental failure, the central and the state governments are not apologetic and continue to be in denial over the security failure. The Patna fiasco indicates if governments are soft on terror, only such disaster will result. No alibi given by the Bihar government is adequate to absolve it of the guilt of gross negligence,” the party said.