As Centre removes Gandhi family's SPG cover, Congress workers protest outside Amit Shah's home

After the central government on Friday decided to revoke the SPG security protection from members of the Gandhi family, Congress workers and supporters held a protest demonstration outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence in New Delhi, claiming that the BJP for practising "vindictive politics". Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will now be accorded Z+ security privileges.

Delhi: Congress workers protest near Home Minister Amit Shah's residence against Govt's decision to withdraw SPG cover from the Gandhi family pic.twitter.com/OXy5WFFEef

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2019

Congress leaders also slammed the ruling party on social media for the move, which some of them have even called a display of "ultimate personal vendetta". Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel tweeted, "The BJP has descended to the ultimate personal vendetta mechanism, compromising the lives of family members of 2 Former Prime Ministers to acts of terror and violence."

The BJP has descended to the ultimate personal vendetta mechanism, compromising the lives of family members of 2 Former Prime Ministers to acts of terror and violence.

— Ahmed Patel (@ahmedpatel) November 8, 2019

Thus, the family of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated by LTTE militants on June 21, 1991, will be without SPG protection after a long span of 28 years. They were included in the VVIP security list following an amendment in September 1991 in the SPG Act of 1988.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now be the sole protectee of the elite SPG commandos.

The decision was taken after a top-level meeting at the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, sources said, adding that the security of the Gandhi family will not be compromised upon and they will now be provided Z Z+ security cover, provided by the Central Reserved Police Force (CRPF). Earlier, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's SPG security cover was also revoked and accorded CRPF's Z-plus protection.

The recent decision was taken after assessing threat inputs from all intelligence agencies which suggested that in the recent past there has been no direct threat to the Gandhi family.

The Special Protection Group (SPG), formed in 1988, is an Indian armed force "for providing proximate security to the Prime Minister of India and former Prime Ministers of India and members of their immediate families wherever in the world they are." 

The security cover of all former Prime Ministers and their families are reviewed from time-to-time and downgraded or upgraded as required based on the potential threat.