The Government of India (GoI,) on the 26th of August, withdrew the Special Protection Group (SPG) security given to Manmohan Singh, a member of the Indian National Congress (INC.)
Mr. Singh was recently sworn in as the Member of Rajya Sabha from Jaipur.
According to sources, the GoI, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Home Affairs Ministry and intelligence agencies decided to withdraw Singh’s SPG security after reviewing the situation for months. The three month review ended on the 25th of August.
A Home Ministry official addressed the media and said, “The current security cover review is a periodical and professional exercise based on threat perception that is purely based on (a) professional assessment by security agencies. Dr. Manmohan Singh continues to have a Z+ security cover.”
The SPG security will now be given only to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Indian National Congress and her children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
A government official, who wished to remain anonymous, said according to the SPG Act, 1988, the GoI renewed the SPG security for Dr. Manmohan Singh and his family even after he demitted office.
However, on the 25th of May 2019, the GoI ordered to review the SPG security provided to Manmohan Singh under the SPG Act of 1988.
The SPG Act was introduced in 1985, after the assassination of late Indira Gandhi, the first woman Prime Minister of India. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill in 1988 and it became an Act.
At the time, the Act was only introduced to provide SPG security to the Prime Minister of India, not the former prime ministers. However, in 1991, after the assassination of late Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, the Government modified the Act and gave SPG security to former prime ministers and their family members as well, for a minimum of 10 years.
Later, in 2003, the then GoI again amended the Act, reducing the duration of providing the SPG security to former prime ministers from 10 years to 1 year, after detailed reviews and checking threat alerts.
After the withdrawal of the SPG security, Dr. Manmohan Singh will be given Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) protection.
Stay tuned for further updates.
