Sharad Yadav condemns removal of Gandhi family's SPG cover

Former Union minister and Loktantrik Janata Dal patron Sharad Yadav on Friday opposed the Centre's decision to withdraw Special Protection Group (SPG) cover of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka and replacing with it CRPF's Z+ security. The decision to withdraw SPG cover given to the family of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated by LTTE terrorists on May 21, 1991, was taken after a detailed security assessment, officials had said.

"This is a wrong decision as two prime ministers from that family, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, were martyred under security cover. I strongly condemn this decision of the Union government," Yadav told reporters here. He also called the impasse on government formation in neighbouring Maharashtra due to lack of agreement between alliance partners BJP and Shiv Sena as "highly irresponsible".

"I am of the opinion that fresh elections should be held in the state (Maharashtra)," he said. Queried on the Ram Janmabhoomi issue, verdict on which is likely to be delivered by the Supreme Court in the next few days, Yadav said everyone should abide by it.

Yadav hit out at the Centre for the economic slowdown and claimed it had led to rise in unemployment, dip in retail business and others sectors like automobiles. He said the GDP growth rate during the UPA government was 9 per cent while it had come down to 5 per cent under NDA rule.

Yadav asked the Kamal Nath government in MP to take strict action against illegal sand mining..

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