No more VIP damad? Airports begin removing Robert Vadra's name from no-frisking list

New Delhi, Feb 22: Robert Vadra, the controversial son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi has had his name removed from a list of passengers who are exempt from frisking before flying.

According to a Times of India report, some airports have started blanking out Vadra's name from the list of those exempt from frisking before flying.

According to the report, the Goa airport has blanked out Vadra's name from the exempted persons' list.

"Several passengers used to ask us what Vadra's credentials were to be on that list. So we plastered it out. Now, many express happiness at not seeing his name," said a security official at the Goa airport has been quoted as saying in the report.

The report say this development comes even as the home ministry is yet to take a call on removing Vadra's name from the list.

Few months back, the Aviation Ministry had written to the Union Home Ministry to decide on the issue of exempting people not holding any constitutional position from frisking at airports.

Exemption from frisking at airports is accorded to the VIPs like the President, Prime Minister, chief ministers, other ministers, Supreme Court judges and governors and to individuals with 'extremely high threat' perceptions.

Airport security checking is mandatory for all passengers before crossing the barricades set up to provide full security to air travellers.

Since May, when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government came to power at the Centre, there are reports that Vadra's name may soon be deleted from airport VIP list.

Vadra, the husband of Priyanka Gandhi, is the only civilian in the list of those exempted from frisking at airports.

On May 31, Priyanka Gandhi had written in a letter, "His inclusion on that list came about at the instance of your predecessors in the SPG/Delhi Police and not upon any request by either of us. It was done ostensibly to facilitate the coordination of the two separate security agencies at the airport when we travelled together.

"Ever since then, it has been a source of constant embarrassment for my husband who has asked me on numerous occasions to have it removed as, in any case, he goes through the full security check and procedure from the normal channel every time he is travelling on his own," she had said.

However in June, the government had said it has no plans to withdraw exemption given to Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra from normal security checks at airports when they travel together.

OneIndia News