UP must explain 'security breach' during Rahul's visit: Centre

New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Taking a serious note of
"security breach" during Congress General Secretary Rahul
Gandhi's recent visit to Allahabad, the Indian government has
asked the Uttar Pradesh government to explain the reasons
behind such incidents occurring frequently.
The Indian Home Ministry has written to the government of
north Indian state Uttar Pradesh (UP) also asking whether
there was lack of coordination between the state police and
the SPG.
The Mayawati government in the state had earlier
complained that it is not kept in the loop about Rahul's
travel plans to his constituency Amethi and other parts and
said it cannot be held responsible for any incident if the
state authorities are not informed well in advance about his
visits.
In its communication, the ministry has asked the state
government to send a report on the incident which took place
on Monday when activists of Samajwadi Party's youth wing
waving black flags tried to stop Rahul's car and clamber on to
the vehicle but were pushed back by SPG personnel.
Sources said prima facie it looks like the local police
personnel, who were deployed along Rahul's travel route,
"failed" to control the protesters who tried to stop the
vehicle of Rahul, a SPG protectee.
The Centre asked the state government to explain why
similar incidents often take place whenever an SPG protectee
travels to Uttar Pradesh.
The SPG has on this occasion duly informed the local
police about the travel plan of the Congress leader, sources
said.
The incident took place when Gandhi was on his way to
Anand Bhavan, the ancestral house of the Nehru-Gandhis, for
overnight stay after an interaction at engineering institute
MNNIT.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Allahabad, Ram Kumar,
however, termed the reports of security breach as "absolutely
untrue".
"These reports are absolutely untrue. We have received
no complaints in this regard from the SPG team which has been
camping in the city for the past couple of days. We have been
working in close coordination with it," he had said.
Rahul had created a flutter by undertaking an
unpublicised train journey in October 2010 in the ordinary
sleeper class from Gorakhpur to Mumbai.
Following this the UP Additional Director General of
Police Brij Lal said the state police was not informed about
the programme of the Congress leader.
Weeks later, Rahul took the official machinery in
Lucknow off guard when he landed there unannounced to attend a
party workshop, prompting Lal to say that no information
either oral or written was given to the DGP or security
headquarters about the visit of the Congress leader. PTI ACB
ASR


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