Gandhis lose SPG cover, to get Z+ security by CRPF

WITH THE MOVE, PM NARENDRA MODI WILL BECOME THE ONLY PERSON CURRENTLY PROTECTED BY SPG

NEWDELHI: TheSpecialProtection Group (SPG), an elite force that protects prime ministers and their immediate families, will stop guarding Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her two children–RahulGandhiandPriyanka Gandhi Vadra – who will now be provided Z-plus security by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), officials said on Friday.

The decision to remove the SPG security to the family of members of Rajiv Gandhi, the former prime minister who was assassinated in May 1991, was taken after a security review, a seniorhomeministryofficialsaid onconditionofanonymity.“The threatperceptionofeachofthose protectedbytheSPGisreviewed every year,” he added. With the move,PrimeMinisterNarendra Modiwillbecometheonlyperson currently protected by SPG.

The decision triggered strong reactionsfromCongressleaders, and prompted the party’s workers to stage a protest outside Union home minister Amit Shah’s residence.

A third official, who did not wish to be named, said the Gandhi family’s SPG cover was getting extendedbythecentral governmentannually for the past 28 years. Afterthisyear’sreview, it was decided to replace the SPG security with Z-plus security for the Gandhi family, the official said. In addition to the Z-plus security, theywillhavethefacilities of all-India Advanced Security Liaison (ASL), bullet-proof carsandjammers,andstringent anti-sabotage measures, he added.

NEWDELHI/ISLAMABAD: Adaybefore its opening, confusion and controversyswirledaroundtheKartarpur Corridor on Friday, with Indian officials blaming this on actionsbyPakistaniauthorities, including the withdrawal and reinstatement of the waiver of a service fee for pilgrims.

Thetwocountrieswillinaugurate separate sections of the corridorlinkingDeraBabaNanakin India’s Gurdaspur to Durbar Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan’s

Kartarpur on Saturday. Indian authoritiesacknowledgethecorridor offers a faint hope for improving the atmosphere, but continue to be apprehensive abouttheprojectbeingleveraged byPakistanielementstofanseparatism in Punjab.

On Friday, the corridor was embroiledinafreshcontroversy as reports emerged of an exhibit at the shrine featuring an Indian bombpurportedlydroppedonthe gurdwara—whereGuruNanak, thefounderofSikhism,spentthe last 18 years of his life — during the 1971 war.