Union Home Minister Amit Shah. File
\| Photo Credit: M. Samraj

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his scheduled visit to Puducherry on Saturday (July 25, 2026) to confer the President’s Police Colour Award on the territorial police.

The President of India, on May 8, officially announced the conferment of the prestigious President’s Police Colour (Nishaan) on the Puducherry police in recognition of its “exceptional service, discipline and distinguished achievements.”

Mr. Shah was scheduled to visit Puducherry on Saturday to hand over a ceremonial colour flag to the force, symbolising the conferment of the award. A parade was scheduled to be held at the Police Training School ground, Gorimedu, to hand over the flag as well as for other ceremonial events symbolising the honour, pride, and legacy of the Puducherry police.

“Preparations had been on for the past few weeks to conduct the event at PTS ground. But yesterday (July 22), we were told that the Home Minister’s visit has been cancelled. Besides the conferment of the award, the Home Minister was to launch the second India Reserve Battalion for Puducherry,” said a top official.

According to a senior BJP functionary, no official reason has been cited for the abrupt cancellation of the visit. “It could be because of the student protests in Delhi or the unresolved portfolio allocation issue within the AINRC-BJP government in Puducherry,” he said.

Published - July 23, 2026 01:22 pm IST