Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday came down heavily on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for repeatedly breaching security protocol within the country and going abroad without taking SPG protection. Informing the lok Sabha about Rahul’s trips in the past two years, Singh said the Congress leader undertook 121 planned and unplanned tours during which he did not use a bulletproof car on 100 occasions.
Responding to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s allegation that last week’s stone pelting incident in Gujarat could have killed Rahul, Rajnath said the Congress leader has given security agencies headache by refusing to follow security protocol. The Home Minister said Rahul used to inform the SPG at the eleventh hour about his foreign tours, creating problems for the agency to provide proper security. He added that the offices of the Congress president and Rahul Gandhi have been informed about the violation. Rahul and Sonia were not present in the House.
In the last two years, Rahul had been on six foreign tours for 72 days. He refused SPG cover on these occasions, Singh said.
“Where did he goIJ He deliberately did not move with the SPG cover. It is against the SPG Act enacted by Parliament,” he said.
Rajnath’s remarks provoked Congress members who trooped into the Well of the House with placards and shouted slogans like “Hitlershahi nahin chalegi”.