Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Police has expressed concern about possible crowding at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in Kochi on Monday.
At a review meeting convened by the Chief Secretary here on Saturday, Kerala BJP president K Surendran said they will be helpless if the public crowded on the streets to get a glimpse of the PM.
The roadshow has been planned to begin at INS Garuda air station adjacent to the headquarters of the Southern Naval Command. The roadshow will conclude at the Sacred Heart College Ground at Thevara.
Modi will inaugurate 'Yuvam', a youth conference organised by Vibrant Youth for Modifying Kerala, at the Lakeview ground of the college.
The next day, the prime minister will be in the state capital to flag off Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express.
Dispute over crowd control
At the meeting, the BJP leadership attempted to allay the state police's fears about public participation by saying the party will not ferry supporters to the venues.
Surendran said BJP supporters will line up only for 1.5 kilometres along the route.
However, the BJP leadership and the police officials could not decide on the timing of crowd dispersal following the Yuvam event.
Even though participation in the Yuvam event is restricted based on registrations, the police opined that the crowd will not be allowed to leave until after the PM exited the venue.
But the BJP leadership has requested to disperse the crowd sooner considering the hot climate. The BJP has asked the cops to look into the possibility of letting the crowd take alternate routes that do not align with the PM's travel path. A final decision in this regard will be taken after a separate meeting with the Kochi City Police Commissioner.
The review meeting was also attended by the DGP, the ADGPs concerned, the police commissioners of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, zonal IGs and other senior security officials.
