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CISF cover to RSS office, cuts at airports. Tharoor says, 'citizens lower…'
A total 3,049 abolished CISF posts from its 33,000 strong aviation security group (ASG) deployed to guard 65 civil airports at present will be taken up by 1,924 private security personnel.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday questioned the Centre's decision to abolish 3,000 CISF posts as part of a major security architecture overhaul at Indian airports while deploying the central armed forces at the Delhi office of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Raising concern over the central government's move, Tharoor said that the “decision should not have been taken without consultation with Parliament, passengers’ associations and airlines.”
“I think India deserves an explanation,” he said in a tweet.
In another tweet, the Lok Sabha member highlighted the “juxtaposition” of the removal of CISF posts at Indian airports on one hand and armed CISF cover to RSS on the other. He wondered whether the tax-paying citizens at public airports are a “lower priority” than a “private non-governmental organisation”, referring to the RSS, the ideological fountainhead of the ruling BJP.
“The juxtaposition of this news with the other raises legitimate questions about the deployment of the CISF,” Tharoor wrote on Twitter. “So tax-paying citizens who are passengers in public airports are a lower priority for CISF deployment than a private non-governmental organisation?”
A total of 3,049 CISF aviation security posts will be abolished under a 2018-19 action plan, jointly initiated by the Union ministries of civil aviation and home along with their respective field offices of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The plan is being implemented across 50 civil airports.
According to the blueprint prepared by BCAS, the CISF aviation security posts will be replaced by 1,924 private security personnel and a parallel introduction of smart surveillance technology like CCTV cameras and baggage scanners.
"The decision was taken keeping in mind the availability of smart security technology at airports now and the architectural changes that can allow non-sensitive positions to be taken up by private security personnel," PTI quoted BCAS joint director general (JDG) Jaideep Prasad as saying.
Meanwhile, the main 'Keshav Kunj' office of RSS, located at Jhandewalan in central Delhi, and its camp office located nearby at 'Udasin Ashram' have been brought under the cover of CISF beginning September 1. The central armed forces will control the entry and exit of the two building complexes.
(With inputs from agencies)
