NEW DELHI: Prime Minister VP. Singh gave an assurance that the government had taken all precautions and made necessary arrangements for the security of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the expenditure on which would be about Rs 7.5 million per annum.
The assurance was given in a letter to veteran Congress leader Kamlapati Tripathi. Tripathi had written to Singh on Sunday last warning him against any laxity in the security arrangement of the former prime minister. “Gandhi may not be the prime minister but he is the leader of the opposition,” ‘Tripathi said in his letter.
The prime minister told Tripathi that the security contingent provided to Gandhi was much higher than that made available to any other dignitary out of office so far,”
Meanwhile, official sources said that the government had agreed to provide services of some SPG (Special Protection Group) officers to Gandhi, if he so desired.
In that event, the services of officers would have to be placed at the disposal of the Delhi police. The SPG was raised for the security of the prime minister by an act of Parliament after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The government had already decided to withdraw the SPG from the security of Rajiv Gandhi.
Apart from the security of Gandhi for which 150 personnel would be deployed, government had also provided a contingent of 54 men for the security of former home minister Buta Singh and an equal number of men for former President Zail Singh. A contingent of 38 policemen would protect former information minister HK.L. Bhagat and 42 men had been deployed for former civil aviation minister Jagdish Tytler.
Former minister of state for internal security P. Chidambaram had personally discussed the security arrangements for Gandhi with the Delhi police, according to official sources.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 16, 1990
