Amid controversy over the withdrawal of SPG cover to the Gandhis, the Lok Sabha is likely to take up a proposed amendment to the Special Protection Group (SPG) Act next week.
Sources have told India Today that the amendment will focus on restricting SPG protection to only the Prime Minister and not the VVIPs.
Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Friday said the proposed amendment to the SPG Act will be taken in the ongoing Winter Session next week, news agency PTI reported.
While listing out the government's business for next week in Lok Sabha, Meghwal said besides other bills, the SPG (Amendment) Bill will also be introduced.
Presently, elite SPG commandos protect the prime minister and his/her immediate family, former prime ministers and their immediate family for a certain period depending on the threat perception.
SPG row reaches Parliament
Recently, the Centre withdrew the SPG protection cover granted to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The issue rocked the first four days of the ongoing Winter Session as the Congress upped its ante against the Narendra Modi government and alleged political vendetta.
In the Parliament, Congress demanded the restoration of the SPG cover to the Gandhi family and former prime minister Manmohan Singh and asked the government to "rise above partisan politics".
Gandhi family without SPG cover after 28 years
Also Read: Is SPG cover withdrawal from Gandhis a political vendetta or a right step by Modi Government?
The Gandhi family is now without SPG protection after 28 years. They were included in the VVIP security list following an amendment in September 1991 in the SPG Act of 1988.
The SPG Act was initially supposed to provide security to only the prime minister and former prime ministers of the country.
SPG protectees, under the rules, are provided with guards, hi-tech vehicles, jammers and an ambulance in their cavalcade. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now the only person being protected by the elite SPG commandos.