Centre concerned about Rahul Gandhi's safety, moves Delhi High Court

Centre on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that it is an 'irresponsible' behaviour on part of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to skip his security, and stated that they are concerned about his security.

The submissions were made by Anil Soni, standing counsel for the Centre, during the hearing of a plea filed by Bharatiya Janata Party's Mumbai spokesperson Tuhin A Sinha. Sinha had sought a direction to Gandhi and Centre to ensure that the Congress leader does not violate the Special Protection Group (SPG)Act and put himself in danger by giving a slip to SPG.

Soni said the government was also concerned about Gandhi's security, and added that skipping SPG was an 'irresponsible' behaviour. He also said that if something happened to him, "We (government) will be held responsible."

Delhi HC dismissed the plea stating that they are not the appropriate forum to decide on security aspects.

"We are not going to decide on security. For security also, we depend on the government. We rely on their assessment," the Acting Chief Justice observed before dismissing the plea.

It also said in case any action was required, the authorities were open to deal with it.

Gandhi's car had come under attack from some stone-pelters when he was on a tour of flood-affected areas in Gujarat in early August.

BJP's Sinha had then reportedly said that Gandhi had not followed the security protocol even when he travelled abroad.

The plea had alleged that Gandhi had skipped his SPG security and put himself to danger. It had sought direction to submit an affidavit to the court that he would not travel without taking SPG cover.