Why doesn’t Rahul take SPG on foreign trips, asks Rajnath
new delhi — In a stinging attack on Rahul Gandhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday accused him of breaching security protocol inside and outside the country and wondered if he doesn’t take the elite SPG on foreign trips to “hide” something.
The minister was speaking in the Lok Sabha on the issue of security for the Congress vice-president following a stone throwing incident during a visit to rain-hit Banaskantha district in Gujarat. Major sparring between the ruling and opposition benches forced Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House for the day.
Taking the floor after Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP of following the politics of violence, Singh said Rahul was out for 72 days on six foreign tours and he did not take the Special Protection Group cover.
“We want to know why didn’t Rahul Gandhi take SPG cover on several foreign trips? What is he trying to hide? In the last two years, Rahul has been out on six foreign visits for 72 days. He has not kept the SPG cover in these 72 days,” Singh said amidst shouting by Congress MPs. “The country would want to know where he went — that he did not want to take SPG cover,” said Singh.
He said going abroad without taking SPG cover was not only a violation of the SPG Act but also negligence towards one’s own security. The minister said the Congress leader informs the SPG only a few hours before leaving the country and hence they cannot accompany him.
SPG protectees get security cover under an Act of Parliament, the minister said, adding Rahul undertook 121 tours in the last two years, out of which there were 100 security protocol violations of not using bullet-resistance car.
In his earlier visit to Gujarat on July 21, Rahul preferred to use a non-bullet resistance car against the advice given by SPG, Singh said.
While condemning the stone attack, he said Rahul did not follow security protocols during his tour to Gujarat when his car was attacked.
Singh said after landing in Banaskantha, Rahul was walking up to the bullet-proof car but was advised by his secretary to take another car. “Two Bullet Resistance cars were provided for Rahul Gandhi at Dhanera but he sat in a non-BR car. He did not listen to the police, he took his private secretary’s advise.” —