Congress raises alarm over security of Rahul Gandhi after BJP minister calls Rae Bareli MP ‘No 1 terrorist’

Congress raised a demand for restoration of Special Protection Group (SPG) security on Thursday for Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Indian National Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi. The calls for stepping up security comes after Union Minister Ravneet Bittu's controversial remarks about Rae Bareli MP Rahul Gandhi.

Defending the party's leader during a press conference in Shimla on September 19, All India Congress Committee (AICC) National spokesperson and Congress legislator, Kuldeep Rathore, expressed concern over Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi's security. Condemning the BJP's attempts to create a hostile atmosphere against the senior party leader, he called for the restoration of SPG security for both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.

This statement comes after Ravneet Singh Bittu allegedly referred Rahul Gandhi as “the number one terrorist in the country” during a public address on September 15.

Criticising Ravneet Bittu and the BJP, Kuldeep Rathore said that the BJP leader should consider his family's history with the Congress before making such statements. Referring to Ravneet Bittu's stance opposing the BJP during the farmers' movement, Kuldeep Rathore wondered whether the party appointed him as a minister to make such comments.

Rathore charged that the BJP poses a threat to Rahul Gandhi's safety and demanded an apology from Ravneet Bittu.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari alleged that the BJP and its allies are creating an environment of hatred that is dangerous. “First a Minister of State in the Government of India, then a Cabinet Minister in the Government of Uttar Pradesh. Then BJP leader [Tarvinder Singh] Marwah threatened to kill [Rahul Gandhi] like his grandmother... A Shiv Sena MLA announced ₹11,00,000 reward to cut off his tongue,” news agency IANS quoted Pramod Tiwari as saying.

Slamming the BJP, he asserted that in case of any lapse in the security of Rahul Gandhi- the Indian government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah- would be held responsible.

(With agency inputs)