Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to SPG Chief thanking SPG for protecting her family form past 28 years
NEW DELHI| On Friday Central Government withdraw the SPG (Special Protection Group) cover given to the Gandhi Family i.e Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. As the withdrew happen Sonia Gandhi Congress Party President wrote a letter to the SPG chief Arun Sinha Thanking him for protecting her family for 28 years.
Mrs Gandhi said she and her family felt a “great sense of reassurance and confidence” in being protected by the SPG, which she called an outstanding force. As per the decision, Mrs Gandhi and her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will now only have Z Plus category protection.
“Ever since our security was put in the hands of the SPG, my family and I have felt a great sense of reassurance and confidence that we are in the best possible hands. Every day, for the last 28 years, we have experienced the unfailing high professionalism, dedication to duty and sincerity with which the SPG protect us,” Sonia Gandhi wrote.
Message from Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi to SPG forces. pic.twitter.com/OaWa936LW1
— Congress (@INCIndia) November 9, 2019
According to government sources, the decision to remove SPG cover came after a recent review of security deployments. The sources also referred to multiple instances when the Gandhis “did not cooperate and impeded the smooth functioning of the SPG”.
The sources had also claimed that both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had sought to taint the SPG’s reputation, adding Ms Gandhi Vadra had threatened legal action after alleging SPG teams were gathering private information about her and her family that was being shared with unauthorised persons.
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The SPG was set up in 1985; a year after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards. After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the SPG Act was amended to provide security to former Prime Ministers and their families for 10 years.
In 2003, the BJP government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had SPG cover till he died last year, amended it again to bring the period of automatic protection from 10 years to one; this could be revised depending on threat levels.
The Gandhi family, which has seen the assassination of two of its members, has always been among India’s most protected, apart from the Prime Minister and a select few.
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