Members of Indian Youth Congress today took to streets to protest against the removal of SPG cover of the Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and other Gandhi scions-Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Delhi: Indian Youth Congress stages a protest against the removal of SPG cover to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, and party leaders Rahul Gandhi & Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. pic.twitter.com/y1AofWdQC0
— ANI (@ANI) November 20, 2019
Thousands of Youth Congress members came on the street outside Shashtri Bhawan near the Parliament agitating over the downgrading of Security cover of the Gandhi family and demanding the restoration of the SPG cover. They also burnt effigies of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The government of India decided to withdraw the SPG cover granted to Gandhi family on November 8, 2019 and accorded then with Z+ security. The move came weeks after SPG protection was removed from another eminent Congress leader and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Read: Here are the possible reasons why Rahul, Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi lost their SPG cover
In Rajya Sabha too, Congress leaders today created a ruckus over the removal of SPG cover of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. Congress demanded the restoration of SPG cover to the Gandhi family and said that the SPG cover should go beyond “partisan politics”.
Following the SPG cover removal of the Gandhi family, senior Congress leaders have launched a searing attack against the BJP, accusing it of “political vendetta”. However, the BJP has claimed that the removal of the elite protection cover was done because of several violations of the SPG norms on many occasions by the Gandhis that resulted in the demotion of their security cover.
Read: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra continues to stay in govt accommodation despite the removal of SPG cover
According to the news agency IANS, Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi travelled in non-BR (bullet-resistant) vehicles on 18 visits to different parts of the country between 2005 and 2014. In addition, there were 1892 instances when Rahul Gandhi travelled in a non-BR vehicle within Delhi and 247 times outside Delhi in such vehicle since 2015.
The news agency also cited violations of the SPG cover by the Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi. She did not use SPG BR vehicle on 50 occasions while travelling in New Delhi during 2015 and 2019. Sonia Gandhi also made 13 unscheduled visits across the country during that period in non-BR cars. She reportedly did not take SPG guards along with her on 24 of her foreign visits between 2015 and 2019.
