Bahraich:  Narendra Modi’s rally in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow has come under a cloud with the state’s Akhilesh Yadav government giving it ‘conditional’ clearance, but insisting that security arrangements are poor as the organisers, the BJP, have not held up their end of the bargain.

The Uttar Pradesh administration, not taking chances after multiple blasts targeted Mr Modi’s rally in Patna on October 27, has launched elaborate security measures for the his rally in Bahraich town.

“We can’t deny permission for a private event. There are serious lapses in arrangement. The Gujarat police had written to UP that the helipad should be ready 48 hours before Mr Modi arrives, but it is not ready. A seven-foot barricade around the stage to restrict access has not come up yet. The general arrangement is also very poor,” said Kinjal Singh, District Magistrate of Bahraich.

Mr Modi’s security team from Gujarat assessed the venue, Suheldeva rally ground, this morning.

The town, located next to a porous border with Nepal, was in focus recently after the arrest of a suspected operative of the terror group Indian Mujahideen, the group that allegedly masterminded the Patna blasts.

The UP police say three-tier security will be in place at the venue, with metal detectors at the gates – something that was missing at the Patna rally – CCTV cameras, jammers and a ‘bullet-proof stage’.

The BJP has targeted Bihar’s Nitish Kumar government and the Centre for not ensuring enough protection for its prime ministerial candidate. The party says Mr Modi should be guarded by the elite Special Protection Group which handles the security of the Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children.

“He is a prime terrorist target and the government knows this – still they are not doing anything,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar had said on Wednesday.

Mr Modi is guarded by the Gujarat police and the National Security Guard, whose commandos are offered to chief ministers seen as high-risk targets like J Jayalalithaa. Tomorrow’s meeting will be Mr Modi’s third “Vijay Shanknaad” rally in Uttar Pradesh after rallies in Kanpur and Jhansi.