NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has accorded pan-India ‘Y+’ category Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) security cover to former Indian Ambassador to the US and recently inducted BJP leader Taranjeet Singh Sandhu, who is contesting from the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat in Punjab, sources said on Wednesday.
The sources said the MHA took the decision to extend the security cover to Sandhu based on a recent threat analysis report received from intelligence agencies. A contingent of CRPF personnel is in the process of taking over his security arrangement, they added.
Joining the exclusive club of former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers in the ruling party, Sandhu joined the BJP last month. Like him, Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and S Jaishankar are also from the IFS.
Sandhu is a 1988-batch IFS officer and the grandson of former Congress leader and Shirommani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) founder member Teja Singh Samundri. Having retired on February 1, Sandhu began interacting with people from all walks of life in Amritsar from February 23 onwards, his grandfather's birth anniversary, which sparked speculation then about his entry into politics.
Sandhu is a seasoned diplomat who has served in the United States on three occasions. Initially, he held a junior diplomatic post during the Pokhran tests in the 1990s and later ascended to the positions of the Deputy Chief of Mission and then the Ambassador.
Sandhu is recognised for his pivotal role in rejuvenating diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Washington, DC, which had deteriorated following the 1998 Pokhran nuclear test.
During his tenure as First Secretary (political) at the Indian Embassy, he played a crucial role when the US Congress adopted a resolution denouncing Pakistan's involvement in the Kargil conflict.
