Leaders warn govt against lifting SPG cover of Gandhis

Three days before the Centre stripped the Gandhi family of the elite SPG cover, top Congress leaders including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had cautioned the Modi government against the move.

Singh, former Defence Minister A K Antony, senior leaders M Veerappa Moily and Ahmed Patel had shot off a letter to Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba expressing concern over reports in a section of the media over the security cover of the Gandhi family.

"...any change in the status of their security prejudicial to the three protectees namely Smt Sonia Gandhi, Shri Rahul Gandhi and Smt Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shall be malafide and, in light of historical facts mentioned above shall be an ill-advised act of commission on the part of the government which would place their lives in danger and direct threat," the letter dated November 5 said.

The leaders put Gauba on notice that they shall hold the government, including political functionaries and the security establishment "directly responsible for any actions to the contrary as these will irretrievably undermine the security of the three protected persons."