Govt rejects Varun's plea for more security

The government today rejected BJP Hindutva poster boy Varun Gandhi's plea for more security and also dismissed his mother, Maneka Gandhi's allegation in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the Home Ministry had adopted a "lackadaisical" approach to threats to his life.

Sources in Union Home Ministry said that the 29-year-old Varun Gandhi was special Y category protectee (three PSO's round the clock, one escort and pilot vehicle) and after various reviews, the arrangement was found adequate.

Maneka, in a letter to the Prime Minister, had referred to the arrest by Delhi Police of six sharp shooters of Chota Shakeel gang, saying that they wanted to target Varun, a claim denied by the police.

"I am amazed at the lackadaisical attitude of your government...The Home Ministry has taken these threats so casually, so lightly that I am appalled," Maneka said in her letter.

"When Varun met the Home Minister, the latter was so arrogant and careless of his duties that he simply informed him that he could not protect everyone in the country. It is as if you want Varun Gandhi to be killed," she had said.

However, the Home Ministry officials said a thorough check was conducted and all those arrested by the Delhi Police were questioned separately during which it was clear that they had come to kill a lawyer, who was among the one representing his case in the Supreme Court.