According to a report, SPG personnel would mandatorily accompany Gandhi family at all times during foreign travels. It added that any departure from these norms could lead to a possible curtailment on their private foreign visits over security concerns.
According to another report, Gandhis were told that their SPG cover would be withdrawn if they did not comply with the modified norms.
This move by the centre is described by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), one of the Congress’s closest allies, as an “infringement on their privacy” and an attempt to “keep surveillance on them”.
While NCP leader Majeed Memon said such a move would amount to a violation of privacy, Congress spokesperson Pranav Jha indicated that the Gandhi family had received no official communication on the matter.
On the other hand, a senior officer of the Union home ministry, informed that a government review of the Gandhis’ security cover had recommended removal of SPG protection and giving the duty to either the National Security Guard or the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
As reported by the Hindustan Times, the government on Monday declined to comment on a report that the operating norms of the elite security force were being modified in relation with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, senior party leader Rahul Gandhi, and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.