Home Minister warns 25 VVIPS of terror threat

The Centre has written to the chief ministers of all the states to ensure tight security for nearly two-dozen VVIPs, including Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka, during election campaigning.

The Centre has written to the chief ministers of all the states to ensure tight security for nearly two-dozen VVIPs, including Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka, during the election campaign.

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The letter, written by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, has listed out 'dos and don'ts´ to be ensured by the state police and paramilitary forces during their electioneering, official sources said on Wednesday.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, her children Rahul and Priyanka and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have got the cover of elite Special Protection Group (SPG).

Besides them, the list includes BJP leader LK Advani, former chief ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, Farooq Abdullah and J Jayalalithaa, chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh - Omar Abdullah, Narendra Modi and Mayawati respectively - also figure in the list prepared by the Home Ministry.

The home minister's missive comes in the wake of intelligence reports suggesting that terrorists may attack key leaders in the run up to the polls, the sources said.