No austerity on security: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tells bureaucrats

NEW DELHI: No austerity when it comes to security. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is believed to have made this clear to bureaucrats at his ministry, telling them clearly that the security of VIPs under threat cannot be cut down or compromised on. BJP General Secretary Amit Shah, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadhkari and Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju have already got a significant upgrade to their security.

A senior Intelligence Bureau official on Thursday told ET that the threat on Shah had exponentially increased after the alleged hate speech he had made in April in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, he had allegedly said that the 2014 election was a chance for the people to seek "revenge for the insult" inflicted during the riots in Muzaffarnagar last September.

"The recent killing of BJP leaders in UP was also a factor in the IB's assessment on Shah," the official said.

Singh defended the move to grant Shah a Z-plus security cover from the CRPF, confirming on Thursday that the his ministry had enhanced his security on the basis of a report by the Intelligence Bureau on a threat to Shah's life. This was after Congress questioned why Shah had been given such a high security cover involving nearly 40 commandoes. ET reported on Thursday that the IB had submitted a report saying Shah faced a heightened security threat from the Indian Mujahedeen and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfits. It was emphasised by the IB official that BJP leaders have traditionally been prime targets for Jehadi terror outfits like LeT.

The home ministry meanwhile made it clear that Shah was not an isolated case for an increase in security cover.

The security of Union Minister Nitin Gadhkari has also been enhanced by the home ministry from the Y level, which involved just one personal security officer, to Z category, which means 17 commandoes will accompany him, a home ministry official said. Rijiju will also get a Z-level security cover across India - earlier his security was limited to Arunachal Pradesh.

There is also a proposal before the ministry to extend a Z-plus security cover to Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley. "More BJP and RSS leaders could also get an upgrade soon. There is no talk yet of downgrading the security of any person but a security cover given to someone on political considerations by the UPA government could be reviewed after the budget session of Parliament is over," the home ministry official said.

A case in point is the home minister himself who enjoys a multiple Z-plus security cover from the National Security Guard, Delhi Police and UP Police, complete with a convoy of half-a-dozen vehicles, making him arguably the most protected person after Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Security of many VIPs was pruned when P Chidambaram was the home minister. But when Sushil Kumar Shinde took charge, he reversed the policy.

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No austerity on security: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tells bureaucrats