PM’s visit may require a better protocol and revamp of SPG
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s lapse in security arrangements, due to which his convoy was stuck on a flyover near Punjab’s Ferozepur on Wednesday for nearly 20 minutes, is indeed a serious one, as said by the Union Home Ministry. But by immediately blaming the Punjab government and the state police, the central office-bearers started a game of blame game, eliminating the possibility of a fair and credible investigation into the incident. Two parallel probes have been announced, one by the Center and the other by the state, both withheld till Monday when the Supreme Court of India will hear a petition on the issue. The discussion on national security in India is always brisk but at least this discussion related to the personal security of the Prime Minister should have been more restrained. Union ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party functionaries turned this into yet another loyalty test, and resorted to exaggeration. India takes the security of its Prime Minister very seriously. After all, a current prime minister, a former prime minister and a leader revered as the father of the nation figure in the list of dead leaders of the country. The Special Protection Group (SPG), with an outlay of around ₹600 crore in 2020 and around 3,000 personnel, has just one job – protect one person, the Prime Minister.
The important question to be examined is who took the decision to travel more than 100 km by road from Bathinda to Firozpur and what should be done and what inputs went into this decision. Assuming that one concludes that it is advisable for the prime minister to be on the road for about two hours, the procedure before that needs to be examined. It was also decided that the Prime Minister should not use the helicopter as originally planned. The route was identified in advance as a contingency plan, but the decision to use it was made at the last minute – a version agreed upon by both the state and central governments. Various scenarios involving miscommunication, misinformation and wrong decisions are possible. The protesters who blocked the route were reportedly not aware of the Prime Minister’s visit. As the Union Home Minister said, accountability should be fixed and loopholes should be plugged. Given the mutual distrust between the state and the Centre, a now-supervised Supreme Court-monitored probe can be a good way to get to the bottom of the matter credibly. This episode should lead to a more efficient protocol for Prime Minister’s visit and reuse of SPG if necessary. Meanwhile, extravagant talk, abusive language and election campaign on this issue should be avoided at all costs.
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