Family members of former PMs will not be guarded by SPG: Sources
New Delhi: The family members of former prime ministers will not be guarded by the elite Special Protection Group commandos, as per the amendments approved by the Union cabinet to the SPG Act, official sources said.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Lok Sabha on Friday that the SPG Act (Amendment) Bill had been listed in the government's business for next week.
This comes days after the government withdrew the SPG protection given to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, after almost three decades.
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LS poll results will have bearing on CM Siddaramaiah's continuation in post, hints minister
Kolar (Karnataka), Apr 18: Indicating that the Lok Sabha poll results will have a bearing on Siddaramaiah's continuation as chief minister of Karnataka, Minister Byrathi Suresh on Thursday warned that voting for opposition candidates poses a threat to the CM's position.
"(Let your votes) be in favour of Congress, Siddaramaiah and (K V) Gowtham (Kolar Lok Sabha candidate). In case you change your mind and make another candidate win, there will be a threat to Siddaramaiah's (CM) seat. So, I request for your support," Suresh said at a meeting of leaders of the Kuruba community to which Siddaramaiah belongs.
He said, "By voting for Gowtham, you are also voting for Siddaramaiah's leadership."
The statements gain significance amid persistent rumours about a leadership change in the ruling Congress in the state after the Lok Sabha polls, or midway of the current assembly's tenure.
ALSO READ: Congress will win up to 20 LS seats in Karnataka, says CM Siddaramaiah
Amid such speculations, Siddaramaiah had recently asked the people of his Varuna assembly segment to give the Congress candidate a lead of at least 60,000 votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, to ensure that he remains in the post of chief minister.
On the same day in Mandya, Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar, who has made no secret about his chief ministerial ambitions, told the people that the desire with which they supported the party in the assembly poll in May last year, keeping him in mind, "will not turn out to be false."
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the assembly election results were declared in May last year. The Congress leadership then managed to convince Shivakumar to take up the deputy chief minister's post.
There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached, according to which Shivakumar would become the CM after two-and-a-half years. However, this has not been officially confirmed by the party.
