New Delhi: The government today issued fresh guidelines related to the Special Protection Group (SPG) in a move that is being seen as an attempt to track the Gandhi family. Under the new directives, it has become mandatory for SPG personnel to accompany their charges at all times, including on personal foreign visits.
According to the Sunday Guardian, the Gandhis have been informed that they will be accompanied by SPG personnel on all foreign visits from now on. “In case this was not acceptable to them, there could be curtailment on their foreign visits on account of security considerations,” the weekly reported.
“Till most recently, the Gandhis would travel with the SPG till their first location abroad, after which they would send the personnel on a return trip home, preferring their own privacy,” it adds.
Also read: Government Withdraws Manmohan Singh’s SPG Security Cover
The SPG currently guards Sonia Gandhi and, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. According to the report, the new guidelines also make it mandatory for the Gandhi family to submit all details related to their travel and to hand over information about past foreign visits as well.
The SPG was set up in 1985 after the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. In 1988, parliament passed the SPG Act, dedicating the group to protecting the prime minister of India.
In 1991, when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated – two years after the V.P. Singh government had withdrawn the SPG protection accorded to him – the SPG Act was amended to allow for the protection of all former prime ministers and their families for at least ten years.
All the same, former Congress minister Manmohan Singh’s security cover was withdrawn this past August.
A statement from the ministry of home affairs had said that Singh would have Z-plus security instead of SPG. “The current security cover review is a periodical and professional exercise based on threat perception that is purely based on professional assessment by security agencies. Dr Manmohan Singh continues to have a Z+ security cover,” it said.