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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