PM Security Breach: How Did Indira Gandhi And Rajiv Gandhi React To Threats?
The late Mr Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989, was assassinated in 1989 by LTTE terrorists in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Previously, he had encountered at least two recorded incidents of threats to his life but at neither time did the issue snowball into a political controversy.
Three days ago, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab, he encountered protesting farmers and bad weather which prevented his travel by helicopter to the designated location of the rally in Punjab’s Ferozepur district. He therefore took a road route which was allegedly blocked by ‘protestors’. The Home Ministry and various other leaders of the ruling party have said that this constitutes a serious ‘lapse’ on the part of Punjab’s government, administration, and police.
The case has also reached the Supreme Court in the form of a PIL in which the petitioner has demanded that the state’s home minister and DGP (Director-General of Police) be sacked. Former PM Rajiv Gandhi Faced Treats To Life Twice This differs sharply from Rajiv Gandhi’s response to similar events. He took office in the turbulent aftermath of his predecessor and mother’s assassination, and the risk to his life was therefore much more pronounced. In 1986, Rajiv Gandhi attended a prayer meeting at Rajghat and gun shots were heard in the background. Gandhi stayed calm during the episode and later remarked that “there was no problem” when asked about any lapses in his security arrangements by the SPG (Special Protection Group) that is responsible for the PM’s security. The next year, he was on a state visit to Sri Lanka in 1987 when a soldier from the ranks made an attempt on his life, but Gandhi escaped unharmed. Again, there was no controversy or court proceedings akin to what we are seeing today. Indira Gandhi Faced Stone Pelting In Odisha In 1967, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a rough experience at an election meeting in Bhubaneshwar, Orrisa (now Odisha). She faced an angry mob that pelted her with stones and resultd in injuries to her face: her forehead, nose, and lower lip were seen in bandages and stitches afterwards. Although she had to leave the meeting while bleeding from the nose, she exclaimed to the crowd: “Will you vote for hooligans who do things like this?”
News reports of the time say that even after being pelted with a stone to her nose, she remained standing on the podium until her security team forced her to withdraw. She even continued her election campaign the next day in a rally in Patna, Bihar.
Following the incident, state police arrested seven people including prominent student leaders.
The case has also reached the Supreme Court in the form of a PIL in which the petitioner has demanded that the state’s home minister and DGP (Director-General of Police) be sacked. Former PM Rajiv Gandhi Faced Treats To Life Twice This differs sharply from Rajiv Gandhi’s response to similar events. He took office in the turbulent aftermath of his predecessor and mother’s assassination, and the risk to his life was therefore much more pronounced. In 1986, Rajiv Gandhi attended a prayer meeting at Rajghat and gun shots were heard in the background. Gandhi stayed calm during the episode and later remarked that “there was no problem” when asked about any lapses in his security arrangements by the SPG (Special Protection Group) that is responsible for the PM’s security. The next year, he was on a state visit to Sri Lanka in 1987 when a soldier from the ranks made an attempt on his life, but Gandhi escaped unharmed. Again, there was no controversy or court proceedings akin to what we are seeing today. Indira Gandhi Faced Stone Pelting In Odisha In 1967, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a rough experience at an election meeting in Bhubaneshwar, Orrisa (now Odisha). She faced an angry mob that pelted her with stones and resultd in injuries to her face: her forehead, nose, and lower lip were seen in bandages and stitches afterwards. Although she had to leave the meeting while bleeding from the nose, she exclaimed to the crowd: “Will you vote for hooligans who do things like this?”
News reports of the time say that even after being pelted with a stone to her nose, she remained standing on the podium until her security team forced her to withdraw. She even continued her election campaign the next day in a rally in Patna, Bihar.
Following the incident, state police arrested seven people including prominent student leaders.
Latest Videos
