Daughters of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Daman Singh and Upinder Singh, have volunteered to give up their elite Special Protection Group cover after almost a decade. The security is being replaced by the government with a mandatory cover of the Delhi police.
A ministry official said Daman's SPG cover was withdrawn last month, while the process of withdrawing cover for her sister Upinder “will be done soon.” As per legalities, immediate family members of current and ex-PMs are eligible for an SPG protection. Confirming the news, Daman Singhg said, “I opted out of the SPG cover. It was not a government move. I was in a hurry to get it removed and really pushed hard. I and my family were not comfortable with the SPG cover. My sister Upinder has also asked for SPG's removal and I think the government is in the process of doing it. The SPG was replaced by Delhi Police cover since it was mandatory... If I had my way, I wouldn't want any security.”
As per an amendment made to the SPG Act in 2003, ex-PMs and their immediate family members cannot get the SPG cover beyond a year of leaving office unless a yearly assessment warrants so in terms of the threat emanating from any militant or terrorist organisation or any other source. Manmohan Singh will continue to be covered by the SPG as threat to him still persists, said a home ministry official. The elite force has just six protectees now, PM Narendra Modi and former PMs Manmohan Singh and A B Vajpayee, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Vadra.
The SPG, with less than 4,000 personnel in its ranks and a budget of Rs 330 Crore this year, is the most expensive VIP guarding security force considering the man-budget ratio.
