Amit Shah to move The Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha today

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will on Tuesday move The Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha, reported news agency ANI

The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on November 27 with a voice vote, while Congress MPs had walked out of the House in protest.

"The Bill says that family members of a former Prime Minister who reside with him at his allotted accommodation will get security cover of the SPG only for five years, from the date he/she ceases to hold the office of Prime Minister," ANI added quoting a Home Ministry statement. 

Initiating the debate on the bill in Lok Sabha, Shah said that the SPG shall provide proximate security to the Prime Minister and his immediate family members residing with him at his official residence.

Rejecting Congress party's allegations of "political vendetta" in the change in the security of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shah said that changes had been made in the protection Act earlier keeping "one family in mind".

He further said that security has been changed of members of Gandhi family after a yearly professional assessment and the change in security has also been done under the ambit of the Act. He added security has been changed from SPG based on an assessment of threat perception and the review was done twice and it was found that ASL is sufficient.

(With inputs from ANI)