# India

SPG security cover withdrawn for former PM Manmohan Singh

Earlier, the SPG cover of former prime minister of HD Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral was also downgraded.

SNS | New Delhi | August 26, 2019 12:33 pm

SPG security cover withdrawn for former PM Manmohan Singh

The government withdrew the Special Protection Group (SPG) security cover for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Manmohan Singh will have a Z plus security cover after a routine assessment taking the inputs of all the agencies.

“The current security cover review is a periodical and professional exercise based on threat perception that is purely based on professional assessment by security agencies. Manmohan Singh continues to have a Z+ security cover,” a senior MHA official said. Security agencies like Intelligence Bureau and Research an Analysis Wing conduct these assessments. Presently 450 people are in the central protection list. Earlier, the SPG cover of former prime minister of HD Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral was also downgraded.

The SPG was formed after the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. The security cover was extended to former prime ministers after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during his campaign trail.