Rajiv ignored advice on including ex-PM, kin in SPG Act'

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: If former Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan is to be believed, he was prescient in more ways than one as he foresaw, in a manner of speaking, the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Seshan, who died on November 10, 2019, had his autobiography ‘Through the Broken Glass’ released posthumously by Rupa Publications. In the book, he makes the claim that when he was drafting the Special the Special Protection Group (SPG) Act in 1988-89, he had prevailed upon Gandhi to include former PMs and their families as protectees under the bill.

However, the incumbent PM had refused, citing the possible perception that he was acting out of self-interest. Furthermore, he alleged that as Cabinet Secretary to another sitting PM VP Singh, he had advised the maintenance of SPG security to Gandhi, which was eventually withdrawn.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber associated with the erstwhile militant group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) on May 21, 1991 while he was campaigning in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. Congress often blames Singh administration’s withdrawal of the SPG security for the assassination.

What’s more is that Seshan, a keen follower of astrology, claims to have foreseen victory for the Congress, apart from foretelling bad fortune for Gandhi well in advance. He added that it was “natural” for him to “see what the stars foretold about Rajiv” since he was an avid reader of horoscopes.