Parliament passes bill to amend SPG Act, Shah rejects charge of political vendetta, Cong stages walkout in RS

Parliament on Tuesday passed a bill to provide the elite Special Protection Group (SPG) security only to the prime minister and for a restricted period to ex-PMs, with Home Minister Amit Shah rejecting the opposition's charge of political vendetta and asserting the government was concerned about security of all 130 crore Indians and not just the Gandhi family.

The Congress, which alleged that the law governing the SPG was being changed to target the Gandhi family and will imperil the life of its leaders, expressed dissatisfaction with Shah's reply and staged a walkout along with some other opposition parties as the SPG (Amendment) Bill was passed by voice vote in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "We are not satisfied with reply of the minister and walk out."
Earlier, participating in the debate, Congress MP Vivek Tankha raised the issue of security breach at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's residence and said there should not be
Reminding the House about the fateful incidents in which Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were killed, he said, "Please protect this family. God forbid, if one more fatal incident happens then who would take blame of it?"
He said, "In our Constitution, Prime Minister is head of the state who requires SPG security. But not after the Prime Minister steps down."
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, however, intervened saying, "We have written a letter to protest against this matter."
To this, Shah retorted, "There is difference between a formality and a protest. Are we living in a democracy or middle age. Law is equal for all. We are not protesting against a family. We are protesting against nepotism. Democracy will not run on nepotism."
He said, "We have not provided for threat assessment review of prime minister in the bill. If he steps down as Prime Minister the SPG cover will be withdrawn. "