The Rajya Sabha recently passed the SPG Amendment Bill amidst a walkout by members of the Congress party. With the passage of the Bill and the removal of the SPG cover from Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the only VIP who gets an SPG cover now.
The opposition and the Government have been sparring over the removal of SPG cover for the Gandhi family and the introduction of the SPG Bill Amendment. The Congress party had accused the Government of amending the law in order to deny the Gandhi family the SPG cover – charges with union Home Minister Amit Shah has denied. The Congress party raised further issue after the security breach at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s Lodhi Estate home in Delhi, a week after the SPG cover was removed.
VIPs in India have always had a retinue of cops guarding them, adding further strain to an already overstretched force. A 2017 report on the Times of India citing data from Bureau of Police Research and Development under the Ministry of Home Affairs, had mentioned that 56,944 out of a total of 19.26 lakh police officers in the country were deployed for the safety of 20,828 VIPs – making it an average of nearly three cops for every VIP.
The SPG, with a retinue of 3000 active personnel and a budget of approximately Rs 535 crores, is the most expensive security service in the country when compared to the man-budget ratio. The reason for amending the Bill is to reduce this budget further.
What is the SPG (Amendment Bill)
The SPG Act (1988), which was introduced after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, provided for top security cover, called the Special Protection Group (SPG) security to the Prime Minister and members of his immediate family who reside with him at his official residence along with former Prime Ministers and members of their family who reside at the official residences, for a period of ten years after the end of the term. In addition, the Bill also provided for the cover to be extended beyond ten years, if the perceived threat justified it.
In its amended form, the SPG Bill 2019 continues to provide for SPG cover to the current Prime Minister and family members who reside with him at his official residence, along with former Prime Minister and his immediate family members who reside with him at the residence allotted, for a period of five years. However, it also states that if an SPG cover is removed from a former Prime Minister, as in the case of death, it would be withdrawn from the family members as well. Further, only those members who stay with the Prime Minister in his official residence, or former Prime Ministers in their allotted residences, would be entitled to the cover.
VIP security covers:
With the removal of the SPG cover, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will now have Z Plus security. Security covers beyond SPG are allotted to VIPs based on the level of threat and are classified into four:
Z+: The highest security cover after the SPG, the Z+ category is provided to VVIPS, including Prime Ministers and former Prime Ministers. The security is manned by 55 personnel which includes 10 National Security Commandos (NSG) commando, police, a pilot vehicle and tailing vehicles. The commandos are experts in martial arts and have sophisticated weaponry, including MP5 guns, along with the latest communications gadgets. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, UP CM Yogi Adityanath are amongst those who are covered by Z plus security.
Z Category: 22 personnel, which include around five National Security Commandos (NSG) and two Personal Security Officers (PSOs), form part of this category. The security is provided by either the Delhi Police or the CRPF and the commandos are equipped with machine guns and communication gadgets, and also comes with a police escort car.
Y Category: This category consists of a security cover of 11 personnel, which includes 1-2 commandos, two PSOs and police personnel.
X Category: This category is provided to individuals who have the lowest perceived threat. The category consists of two personnel with one PSO.
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