The Congress has reacted angrily on the reports that the Centre’s Narendra Modi government has decided to withdraw the Special Protection Group (SPG) cover of Nehru-Gandhi family including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi.
According to media reports, the government has decided to replace their security cover by Z+ cover, which will consist of CRPF men taking care of their security. The home ministry has reportedly concluded that the members of the Gandhi family did not face significant threats to their lives.
Reacting to the news, former union minister, Salman Khurshid, said the decision was unfortunate and smacked of political vendetta by the BJP-led government.
Congress MP and close aide of Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, tweeted, “The BJP has descended to the ultimate personal vendetta mechanism, compromising the lives of family members of 2 Former Prime Ministers to acts of terror and violence.”
The BJP has descended to the ultimate personal vendetta mechanism, compromising the lives of family members of 2 Former Prime Ministers to acts of terror and violence.
— Ahmed Patel (@ahmedpatel) November 8, 2019
The decision follows a similar step taken by the MHA to downgrade the security cover of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from SPG to Z+ category.
BJP Govt decision to withdraw the SPG protection of Smt.Sonia Gandhi Ji,Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji & Smt.Priyanka Gandhi Ji is nothing but political vendetta to put their lives in danger even after knowing that two leaders Smt.Indira Gandhi Ji & Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji were assassinated.
— Rajeev Satav (@SATAVRAJEEV) November 8, 2019
Removal of SPG for the Gandhis, when their family has suffered huge personal losses for the sake of our nation’s integrity & are on the radar of extremists, is sheer vendetta politics.
Modi has reduced Indian politics to the level of giving cheap thrills to his rabid supporters.
— Srivatsa (@srivatsayb) November 8, 2019
Many Congress supporters took to social media to remind the government that two members of the same family, both prime ministers, were assassinated in the past. While Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984, her son Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by Tamil terrorists seven years later.