HOW ARE RULERS IN A DEMOCRACY MORE THAN EQUALS? HERE IT IS!

According to a Home Ministry report, 16,788 VIPs and prominent people, mostly ministers, MPs, MLAs, judges and bureaucrats, were guarded by 50,059 policemen in 25 states and Union Territories in 2010 against sanctioned strength of 28,298 police personnel. Unfortunately, VIP security and not law and order seem to be the top-most priority for most governments. The overly understaffed and overworked police force, which is already grappling with public and media criticism, over deteriorating law and order, is further confronted with a hapless situation of having to divert its forces from highly pressing law and order requirements to VIP security and ever increasing VIP convoy movements. As a consequence of this political callousness, it is the common man who is bearing the brunt of deteriorating law and order as well as endless traffic restrictions and traffic jams during highly frequent VIP movements.

SOME FACTS ABOUT VISIT/ MOVEMENT BY PRESIDENT OF INDIA (Though a ceremonial head)
Convoy details	Warning car, pilot car, ECM Vehicle (jammer), VVIP 1 (bulletproof car), the President’s car, Escort 1, VVIP II (Presidential guests), Escort 3, VVIP spare followed by Presidential entourage that consists of car 1 (Ministers in waiting), car II, car III (military secretary to the President), van, car V, van II, Spare car/ utility vehicle, ambulance, tail car
Preparation time & Resources involved	15-30 days 22 Government departments are involved in planning the visit
Air cover & facilities provided	Involves construction of three-four temporary helipads Helicopter crew (approximately 20) stay in star hotels ahead of visit
Approximate expenditure	Rs 1.2 Crores

A quarter of the VIPs in the protected category hardly need policemen to guard them. Many of them are too unimportant to be of interest to potential killers; many are no more under threat and many are good enough to take care of their own security. Nevertheless, they seldom acknowledge the ground reality. Movement in public in convoys with red or blue beacons with the obvious security cover is highly considered as a STATUS symbol. Some of elected politicos are local strongmen with enough security around them provided by their own party’s goons and does not need the security cover. However, the central and state governments have been highly charitable in granting security cover, albeit arbitrarily depending on the political equations.

It is widely recognized as well as voiced by many eminent and learned citizens, level headed politicians and media that security cover could be limited only to a handful of people in constitutionally important positions to free up large police personnel for normal duty, which could be a tangible benefit to the citizenry of this country. At the same time, others could make their own arrangements for security personnel and the government could make provision for payment to private security persons employed by the leaders from a special fund based on an approved eligibility criteria, which could again be an intangible benefit to the common man

The Union home ministry has been pruning the list of VIPs under protection over the last three years but it is hardly impressive. Moreover, some states and Union Territories, which have their own arbitrary list of VIPs, have been reluctant to follow suit despite facing a staff crunch. Unfortunately, the “STATUS” part of this proposal is too important for many, to give up.

However, in a welcome development, Akhilesh Singh, the young chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, has cut down his security apparatus and size of the convoy to eight from forty vehicles employed by Mayawati, his predecessor. Manohar Parrikar, the chief minister of Goa, has refused a Z-plus security cover and scaled down the security cover of all other ministers as well. These are highly welcome developments by every Indian citizen and would expect their contemporaries in other states as well as the Federal ministers to follow suit.