Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra will now be frisked at airports as his name has finally been removed from the ‘No-frisking’ list. The Congress welcomed the move saying the issue was raised by the Bharatiya Janata Party time and again against Vadra.
“Fantastic. I am happy with what they have done,” was Mr. Vadra’s first response after the aviation ministry’s orders.
He later went on Facebook to comment: “I appreciate that my name will not appear in the VVIP list anymore. I hope this is a dead issue now and will not be used against me.”
Two days ago, Mr. Vadra had used another Facebook post to convey that he wanted to be off the list of VIPs exempt from frisking at airports.
“Plans to visit every terminal in the Airports in India and add a white tape on my name from the VVIP list and my signature on top!! So look out ….” Mr. Vadra posted.
He had also expressed doubts about “double standards” of the government as on the one hand it says his name must be removed from the list and on the other it does not remove it from there.
“…apparently the analysis disclosed by the government on my threat perception, allegedly says I am not required to be on this list, so why double standards in removing and further including my name, in the VVIP list,” he had said in a statement on Facebook.
He had added that it could also be part of a “conspiracy” to malign his image.
Vadra had also said that he was not interested in the special privilege.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma, meanwhile, said that the government had no option since Vadra himself wanted his name to be deleted from the list.
Clearing the government’s stand, Sharma said that if Vadra wanted his name to be deleted earlier, he should’ve written a letter rather than posting it on Facebook.
The issue of Vadra’s exemption from frisking and checking at airport had been raised many times.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had last year said that the no-frisking list should be meaningful and not “ornamental”.
The current no-frisk list includes the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Union Cabinet ministers, Leader of Opposition, Supreme Court judges, high court chief justices, chief ministers and their deputies, governors and ambassadors. Those who are protected by the SPG, such as Vadra’s wife Priyanka Gandhi and brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi are also not frisked.
