Centre withdraws security cover of 40 former bureaucrats, netas after review
Among those whose security cover has been downgraded are former Union ministers AK Antony, and Beni Prasad Verma, Lok Sabha MP Pappu Yaav and Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Shashi Tharoor.
Senior congress leader and former defence minister AK Antony is among 40 opposition politicians and former bureaucrats whose security has been downgraded or totally withdrawn after a threat perception analysis by the intelligence agencies.
Antony’s security stands downgraded from ‘Y Plus’ to ‘Y’ category.
Prominent among former bureaucrats include three former chiefs of Indian Space Research Organisation – Dr Madhwan Nair, Dr Kasturirangan and Dr K Radhakrishnan – whose security has been downgraded from ‘Y’ to lowest ‘X’ category. All three are being protected by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) as central protectees.
A home ministry official termed the decision as ‘routine review’.
As part of the review, the Centre asked the Bihar government to take care of security of Pappu Yadav, who is a Lok Sabha member from Madhepura. Yadav was being guarded by the CRPF under ‘Y Plus’ category security till now.
Similarly, the Gujarat government has been asked to provide security detail to former state Congress chief Arjun Modhwadia. He was a ‘Y’ category protectee of the CRPF till now. Another Congress leader ‘Y’ category protectee to lose CRPF protection is Bihar minister and state Congress chief Ashok Chaudhary.
Other prominent politicians who have lost their central security cover include former Union minister Beni Prasad Verma (Y category), ex-MP Seema Upadhyay (Y category), ex-MP Saleem Shervani (Y category), two former ministers of home Sriprakash Jaiswal (Y category) and RPN Singh (X category) and DP Singh, who is Congress MLC from Raibareli and had X category protection from the CISF. The X category CRPF protection provided to Kapil Mishra, who is the son of senior BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra, also stands withdrawn.
The government provides security under five categories – 'Z Plus' (around 40 guards with two escort vehicles) , 'Z' (around 24 guards with one escort vehicle), Y Plus (escort vehicle and around 12 guards), 'Y' (around 12 guards) and 'X' (four guards). On the directions of the home ministry, more 450 protectees get security cover.
In the current review, the ‘Y’ category CRPF protection provided to Aveek Sarkar, who is the former editor-in-chief of English daily The Telegraph, has also been downgraded to ‘X’ category.
Other Congress leaders whose security stands downgraded from ‘Y Plus’ category to ‘Y’ category include Ajay Maken, Shashi Tharoor, Shakeel Ahmad and Vijay Inder Singla.
Get Current Updates on India News, PM Narendra Modi Live Updates along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world