Author:
Publication: The Times of India
Date: March 12, 2008
The Orissa government has lodged a protest
with the Centre over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's secret visits to remote
villages during his four-day tour of the state, officials said on Tuesday.
In a letter to Union home secretary Madhukar
Gupta, Orissa home secretary T K Mishra has taken strong exception to the
manner in which Rahul went missing in Koraput for four hours at night on March
7 even as SPG commandos allegedly misbehaved with the SP, sources said.
The letter says it's the state government's
responsibility to provide security to VVIPs. The Centre has, in the past,
sent special instructions for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul. But the way Rahul breached
security and went to a tribal village in a Maoist-hit area without informing
the local collector and the SP is an irresponsible act, sources said. Had
something gone wrong the Centre would have blamed the state, said top cops.
TNN
