Security scare for Rajnath Singh after power failure at BSF ceremony

New Delhi: In the second security scare for Rajnath Singh at a CRPF building in NewDelhi, the Union Home Minister had to spend anxious minutes in a dark hall on Friday as the power of the building, where he had gone to attend a BSF function, tripped just before his arrival. The CRPF building where Singh was the chief guest at the Border Security Force investiture ceremony plunged into darkness minutes before his arrival and full power could not be restored even after an hour he left the venue. An unnerved Singh sat on the dais of the pitch dark large room for ten minutes after which some backup lights came and lit the room partially. [caption id=“attachment_2258650” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Reuters[/caption] It is not the first time, Singh has to encounter such an embarrassing situation in the CRPF building in Vasant Kunj. On 9 April the lift carrying him got stuck and he had to be evacuated through its roof. With no signs of power being restored in the large hall, senior officials were seen scrambling for some backup as the hall went into complete darkness just before Singh’s arrival. Singh, after completing his speech, was seen wiping his face and forehead as the air conditioning was also not working. Later, officials managed about three to four fans to run on power backup. “The generators too have failed. The problem occurred as a number of ACs and fans were switched on in one go,” an official said. The embarrassment did not end even during the investiture ceremony as power tripped almost half-a-dozen times when the Home Minister was decorating brave and meritorious personnel of the BSF. Rajnath, who chose not to mention a word about the piquant situation, was seen asking photographers if they want to click a second shot of him awarding a BSF officer as the hall had gone dark due to yet another power failure when he was shaking hands with him. Senior officials and chiefs of paramilitary forces along with the invited families of awardees were seen fanning themselves with event brochures. Electricity kept on playing spoilsport even during the later part of the event when National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was delivering the Rustamji Memorial lecture, with only backup lights and fans working. PTI