Some Congress leaders are said to have expressed concern about the security risk that party president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are running by travelling with the masses. This concern has been voiced after stones were pelted at the train in which Mr. Gandhi was travelling on Tuesday.
The concern of Congress leaders is that by flying economy class or travelling in trains in their bid to abide by the Congress Working Committee resolution to practise austerity, the two members of the Nehru-Gandhi family were exposing themselves to a higher security risk.
Asked whether Ms. Gandhi and her son would stop flying economy class or travelling in trains after the stone pelting, Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said: “While our commitment to austerity stands unchanged, security concerns of SPG protectees is paramount and will be kept in mind.”
She maintained that the stone-pelting appeared to be the handiwork of miscreants. Other Congress leaders pointed out that stone-pelting on trains — particularly high-end ones — was commonplace in North India.
