Commentary/Vir Sanghvi
If Sonia Gandhi can manage with three SPG men in an unmarked Ambassador, then
Subodh Kant Sahay can do with less
How then can we rationalise VIP security so that it is both effective
and causes a minimum of inconvenience? Oddly enough, this is not
difficult to do. The answers have been around for a long time.
It is just that the political will to implement them is lacking.
Here is a broad package of measures:
Prune the list
Too many people get protection at tax payers's
cost. At least, 50 per cent of those who get security do not deserve
it.
Reduce the level of security
An MP in Delhi may well be under
threat from a sniper or a lone assassin. He is not going to be
attacked by a specially-trained assault squad. It is foolish to
give him 50 uniformed commandos who follow him around in three
Gypsies. A couple of bodyguards should be enough. If Sonia Gandhi
can manage with three SPG men in an unmarked Ambassador, then
Subodh Kant Sahay can do with less.
Publish the cost
The entire security system costs us too
much. We are entitled to know how many millions are being spent
on protecting H K L Bhagat or Rajesh Khanna or Sajjan Kumar.
Do not ever block a road or stop traffic for more than 10
minutes
And even then, do it only in the most exceptional cases.
The Tamil Nadu governor can take his chances with the rest
of us. It is unforgivable to stop traffic on the off chance that
he might pass by.
Stop securitymen from carrying sten guns into hotel lobbies
and public places
There may be a case for carrying pistols (as
the US Secret Service does when it guards President Bill Clinton).
But a sten gun sprays bullets in all directions. Even if an assassin
were to take a potshot at a politician in the lobby of the Taj,
mere innocent bystanders would be killed if such securitymen opened
fire with sten guns.
The key to good security is discretion
When Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister, he often drove around in an unmarked car on
the grounds that if terrorists did not notice him, he was safe.
Today, we've turned that principle on its head. Anybody who wants
to kill a politician now knows exactly how to find him because
of the sirens, the flashing lights and the uniformed commandos.
These are merely suggestions. But I fear that as self-evident
as they seem, they will not be implemented because the political
structure like its bodyguards and status symbols.
If the prime minister is serious about scaling down security -- and I think he is -- then he should appoint a three-member committee
right away and urge it to submit new recommendations within a
month. I can think of the members right away: the present home
secretary, who is perturbed over the excessive levels of security;
Ved Marwah, who was one of India's most distinguished policemen;
and N N Vohra, the former home secretary.
Do it now prime minister. Tomorrow may be too late.
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