Lalu, Rudy, Shotgun among others to lose VIP security

The Asian Age With Agency Inputs

India, All India

This is the first full-scale review of VIP protectees by the Union home ministry after the Modi 2.0 government took charge.

Lalu Prasad Yadav

New Delhi: In a significant development the Centre on Tuesday removed the VIP security cover of several politicians and lawmakers, including RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. Besides, the Union home ministry scaled down the protection category of many others after reviewing over 130 cases, sources said.

Sources further said the top level ‘Z+’ category NSG cover of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, ‘Z’ cover of former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad, BJP MP and former minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, former BJP members Kirti Azad and Shatrughan Sinha, newly- appointed Himachal Pradesh governor Kalraj Mishra, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, two granddaughters and a grandson of former President Pranab Mukherjee, daughter and grandson of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been taken off from the central list or has been removed. This is the first full-scale review of VIP protectees by the Union home ministry after the Modi 2.0 government took charge.

These VIPs were being secured by the armed commandos of Central Armed Police Forces like the CRPF, CISF, the elite counter-terror force NSG and the Delhi police. Others, whose security has been withdrawn, include minister in Uttar Pradesh government Suresh Rana, Member of Parliament from Bihar’s Vaishali seat Veena Devi, former MP from the state Uday Singh, Uttar Pradesh minister Brajesh Pathak, BJP politician Anupam Hazra, ISRO chairman K. Sivan, former scientific adviser R. Chidambaram and Congress leader Deependra Hooda.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP O.P Mathur, Achrya Pramod Krishnam, who unsuccessfully contested from the Lucknow parliamentary seat on a Congress ticket, RSS leader Indresh Kumar, former BJP MP Udit Raj and sitting BJP MP from Etawah Ram Shankar Katheria have also been taken off from the protection list of central security forces. The cover of Uttar Pradesh deputy CM Dinesh Sharma, Congress leader Avtar Singh Bhadana, Punjab minister Rana Gurmit Sodhi, former Bihar MP Sabir Ali, Congress MP from Punjab, Pratap Singh Bajwa, VC of Manipur University Adya Prasad Pandey, space scientist T.K. Alex and few others have also been taken off the central list, according to latest orders issued by the Union home ministry.

Separately, the security provided by the CAPF commandos to BSP MP Satish Chandra Mishra, former Jharkhand CM Babulal Marandi, BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Som has been scaled down.

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