The top Special Protection Group (SPG) security cover provided to former prime minister Manmohan Singh will been withdrawn, The Hindu reported on Monday. As a part of annual reassessment, Singh's SPG cover will been withdrawn and replaced with CRPF cover, reports stated. NDTV reported that similar security was also withdrawn from former prime ministers H.D. Deve Gowda and V.P. Singh. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra all come under SPG cover. The home ministry stated: "The current security cover review is a periodical and professional exercise based on threat perception that is purely based on professional assessment by security agencies."
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Singh, who was India's prime minister from 2004 to 2014, will continue to enjoy Z plus security cover—one of the highest—to be given by one of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), preferably by the CRPF, they said.
"The current security cover review is a periodical and professional exercise based on threat perception that is purely based on professional assessment by security agencies. Dr. Manmohan Singh continues to have Z+ security cover," a home ministry spokesperson said.
The decision to withdraw the security provided by the Special Protection Group (SPG), the country's highest grade of protection, was taken after a three-month review involving the Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Home Affairs with inputs from various intelligence agencies.
With the removal of SPG cover from Singh, the top notch security cover will now be given by the SPG only to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Gandhis—Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka.
In 2015, daughters of former PM Singh had decided to give up the SPG cover. After assessment of their security and a decision to continue the SPG cover for another year till May 2016, the two daughters—Upinder Singh and Daman Singh—had communicated verbally to the SPG officials requesting for discontinuing the protection by the elite force.
-Inputs fron PTI
