After Rahul Gandhi Left For Cambodia, Government Makes It Mandatory For VVIPs to Travel Abroad With SPG Cover

New Delhi, October 7: After Congress MP Rahul Gandhi left for Cambodia for vipassana, the Modi government issued fresh guidelines for elite Special Protection Group (SPG) which provides security cover to VVIPs including the country’s most protected politicians. As per new guidelines, the SPG commandos will have to accompany the protectee when he or she travels abroad, India Today reported. Rahul Gandhi to Gear Up Congress Campaign in Maharashtra and Haryana From Oct 10-19.

If the protectee refuses to travel with the SPG guard, the government can curtail his/her foreign visits on account of security threat. The same has been conveyed to the Gandhi family, reports said. Till recently, the Gandhis would travel with the SPG till their first location abroad. If they need privacy, the SPG commandos would be sent back home. The practice would make the Gandhis untraceable and susceptible to risks. Congress Workers to Get Training on 'Nationalism' And 'How to Expose BJP's Pseudo-Nationalism'.

Following the new guidelines, Sonia Gandhi or Rahul or Priyanka or any other politician enjoying the SPG cover will have to submit every minute detail of their foreign travel plans. When an SPG protectee arrives in any country, the Indian Mission there coordinates with the local police and other authorities to ensure the security cover. Recently, the government withdrew the SPG cover granted to former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Rahul Gandhi, who stepped down as the Congress president following the party's defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, left for Cambodia a "meditation retreat" or Vipassana ahead of the crucial assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 07, 2019 02:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).