The Central Reserve Police Force has rejected the claims of a security breach during the Delhi leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and pointed out that Rahul Gandhi broke the security protocol on several occasions. The counter came a day after Congress MP KC Venugopal wrote to Home minister Amit Shah claiming the “security breach” and demanded that Congress leaders be accorded appropriate security during the Yatra.
The CRPF stated in its rejoinder that security arrangements for Rahul Gandhi are made by the central force in coordination with state police and other agencies. The CRPF said that an Advance Security Liaison (ASL) for the Delhi leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was held on December 22, two days ahead of the event.
The CRPF further said that all security guidelines were strictly followed on the day of the march and the force was informed by the Delhi Police that there was sufficient deployment of security personnel during the December 24 event.
“Violations of laid down guidelines on the part of Rahul Gandhi have been observed on several occasions & this fact has been communicated to him from time to time. Since 2020, there have been 113 violations observed and duly communicated. It may further be mentioned that during Delhi leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra, the protectee (Rahul Gandhi) has violated security guidelines and CRPF will be taking up this matter separately,” the CRPF said in a statement.
In his letter to the Home minister on Wednesday, Venugopal alleged “significant security breaches in the Bharat Jodo Yatra” and demanded that the Centre ensure security for Rahul as the Yatra enters the sensitive states of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
“As Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Delhi on 24th December 2022, the security of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was compromised on multiple occasions, and the Delhi Police completely failed in controlling the surging crowd and maintaining a perimeter around Rahul Gandhi, who is assigned Z+ security,” Venugopal wrote in his letter, adding that Delhi Police remained “mute spectators”.