Priyanka seeks withdrawal of family's special privileges at airports

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, has written a letter to Special Protection Group (SPG) chief, asking for the withdrawal of privileges at airports for her and her family.

Priyanka's letter, which came in the wake of media reports about removal of her husband Robert Vadra's name from the list of VVIPs exempt from checks at the airport, said that "his inclusion on that list came about at the instance of your predecessors in the SPG/Delhi Police and not upon any request by either of us". A copy of the letter is with IANS.

"It was done ostensibly to facilitate the coordination of the two separate security agencies at the airport when we travelled together," she said.

"Ever since then, it has been a source of constant embarrassment for my husband who has asked me on numerous occasions to have it removed as, in any case, he goes through the full security check and procedure from the normal channel every time he is travelling on his own," Priyanka said.

She said that she had verbally conveyed this to the previous officials incharge of her security detail on a number of occasions but no action was ever taken on it.

"Since the government is now reportedly considering the removal of his name, I would like to inform you that I do not feel it will be correct for my children and me to avail of the facility of exemption of these checks while entering or exiting the airport when we are all travelling together," she said.

She said it was "only right for us to go through the normal channels at the airport and be frisked as per normal procedure at such times as you will appreciate that it makes no sense for a family travelling together to fall under different categories of exemption".

She said she would "appreciate if you could put this into practice as soon as the government order cancelling my husband's exemption comes into force".