Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday met Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani to clarify some points raised by him regarding a letter received from the ministry, about security threat to VVIPs during electioneering.
The home minister had written to all the states to ensure tight security for nearly 35 VVIPs and asked these leaders not to go on any surprise visit during electioneering. The list includes the name of Leader of Opposition Advani, who wanted to discuss the issue with the minister to clarify some points mentioned in the letter, ministry sources said.
Chidambaram reached Advani's residence early in the morning and held discussions for about 20 minutes, the officials said. During the meeting, the home minister asked Advani to avoid surprise visits and inform the authorities well before his arrival at any place, so that adequate security measures can be taken.
In the letter to all the state governments, he had listed out 'do's and don'ts' for the state police and paramilitary forces during the electioneering, official sources said.
The list includes names of all leaders under the purview of Special Protection Group. It includes Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her children Rahul and Priyanka and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
It also includes names of Advani, former chief Ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, Farooq Abdullah and J Jayalalithaa. Chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, Omar Abdullah, Narendra Modi and Mayawati respectively, Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav also figure in the list prepared by the Home Ministry.
The letter written by Chidambaram asked these politicians to take adequate security precautions and cooperate with security forces by sharing tour programmes and movement plans well in advance, official sources said.
The ministry has already advised Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka and other leaders to refrain from any road shows during canvassing as intelligence agencies fear possible suicide attacks during such political rallies.
The road shows, which attract huge crowds and involve frequent stops and meetings with supporters at unscheduled venues, are considered to carry high risk to the lives of these leaders, the sources said.
