Central govt officials fault Rahul for Yatra security breaches

A day after Congress alleged security breaches during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the national capital, the central government officials claimed "full security arrangements" were made for Rahul Gandhi in accordance with laid-down guidelines. Gandhi himself "violated" protocols 113 times since 2020, the officials claimed.

An official said: "Security arrangements made for a protectee work when the protectee adheres to the laid-down guidelines."

However, they alleged that on several occasions, violations of guidelines on the part of Gandhi have been observed and this fact has been communicated to him from time to time. Since 2020, there have been 113 "violations", the officials said.


Besides, they said, during the Delhi leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi "violated" security guidelines and CRPF, which is responsible for his inner cordon of the Z-plus security, will take up the matter separately. During the travel of a protectee, security arrangements are made by CRPF in coordination with the state police and security agencies in accordance with guidelines.

Advisories based on threat assessment have been issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs to all stakeholders concerned including the state governments. For the Delhi leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra on December 24, the Advance Security Liaison involving all stakeholders was conducted on December 22 and security protocols were strictly followed, they said.

AICC general secretary KC Venugopal (organisation) had said in a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday that "the government should not indulge in vindictive politics and ensure the safety and security of Congress leaders". Citing instances of "miscreants" entering the yatra camp site illegally, Venugopal had alleged that they were Haryana's intelligence security personnel, who interrogated people who took part in the yatra.