In an unexpected turn of events, a green light was pointed at Rahul in Amethi, which exactly came from a mobile phone and not a sniper’s rifle, the Home Ministry said on Thursday after Congress thought that the green laser possibly came from sniper gun and further complained of a possible violation in its party chief’s security during his Amethi visit.
In a letter to home minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday, senior leaders- Ahmed Patel, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Singh Surjewala voiced their opinion over the “grave and unacceptable” to Rahul Gandhi’s life.
Congress sent a copy of Rahul Gandhi’s media interaction. It said, “a laser (green) was pointed at his head, intermittently on at least 7 separate occasions in a short period”.
The Home Ministry said it hadn’t received a copy of the letter sent by the Congress leaders but had asked the Special Protection Group – the elite team of commandos mandated to guard Prime Minister, ex-PMs and their immediate family – to “verify the factual position”.
“The ‘green light’ shown in the clipping was found to be that of a mobile phone used by the AICC photographer, who was videographing the impromptu press interaction of Shri Rahul Gandhi near the collectorate at Amethi,” the Home Ministry spokesperson added in a statement, referring to a report received from the SPG chief.
“The SPG director has confirmed that there was no security implication whatsoever,” the spokesperson said. The SPG has also notified these facts to the Rahul Gandhi’s office, the home ministry added.
In its recent communication to the centre, Congress demanded a quick action to “investigate and neutralise the threat, if any” to Rahul Gandhi.
“We also call upon you to ensure that full security protocol – including appropriate sanitisation of the area – is undertaken by the SPG as also the local administration, who are obligated to do so,” the Congress’s letter said, stressing that Rahul Gandhi’s security is the home ministry’s “first responsibility”.
“Your office would be aware that the Congress president being a high-risk target is especially vulnerable during the extensive electioneering in the ongoing 2019 elections,” the Congress told the government previously in the day.
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