Centre sanctions VIP security cover for two new BJP entrants in Punjab

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Punjab politician Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, who joined the BJP a few days ago, has been accorded Z category VIP security cover by the Union government, official sources said on Wednesday.

The security cover of Manjinder Singh Sirsa, former Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief who joined the BJP early this month, has been upgraded by the government from Y to Z category.

Sodhi, 67, is an MLA for the last four terms and is considered close to former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh.

He recently announced his resignation from the Congress on Twitter and posted on the microblogging site the letter sent to party president Sonia Gandhi.

An MLA from Guruharsahai in Ferozepur district, he was the sports minister in the Amarinder Singh government.

Sodhi joined the BJP on December 21 at the party's headquarters here.

The sources said Sodhi has been accorded Z category security on the recommendation of the Union home ministry and he will have an armed cover of CRPF commandos every time he travels in Punjab and Delhi.

Under this cover, Sodhi will have a contingent of six-eight commandos travelling with him, they said.

Sirsa earlier had a Y category security cover of the Delhi Police during his movement in the national capital. With the new sanction, he will have the larger Z category cover both in Delhi and Punjab and it will be handled by the CRPF.

The CRPF protects as many as 76 personalities under its VIP security cover including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the first family of the Congress party, its president Sonia Gandhi and her children Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi, among others.

It is currently training a contingent of the Delhi Police and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in VIP security tasks.