Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday raked up the political violence in Kerala, and claimed more than 120 BJP-RSS activists had been killed in the Communist-ruled state. The Left had not right to talk about political vendetta, Shah said, hitting back at their stand on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill in Rajya Sabha.
"In Kerela, more than 120 BJP-RSS activists have been killed just because of your political vendetta," Shah told the CPI(M) during his reply to a debate on the bill which was later passed by the upper house.
The CPI(M) had alleged that the Narendra Modi government brought the SPG (Amendment) Bill for its political vendetta against the Gandhi family.
When the Left MPs objected to Shah's statement and said their workers had also been killed in the state, Shah said that happened when the Congress ruled the states.
"That happens when the Congress comes and when left comes, but BJP workers always get killed," he said.
The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha after the Congress walked out following protests.
The Gandhis, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, were provided SPG cover after the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by LTTE terrorists on May 21, 1991. However, the central government recently downgraded their security from the SPG cover to Z-plus. A team of commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is now providing security to them.
Shah said the three members of the Gandhi family have been given Z-plus top-grade security cover with ambulance and are guarded by personnel who were part of the SPG previously.
The passage of the amendments to the SPG Act will pave the way for only the prime minister and his "immediate family residing with him at his official residence", as well as any former prime minister and members of his immediate family "residing with him at the residence allotted to him for a period of five years, from the date he ceases to hold the office of prime minister" to be given SPG cover.
