Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh has been accorded ‘Z’ category security cover of central paramilitary commandos by the Union government due to threat perception following ‘recent activities’, a development that comes in the backdrop of infighting in the Samajwadi Party ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
Officials said the Union Home Ministry issued an order in this regard on Saturday night and asked the Central Industrial Security Force to take up the task with immediate effect.
“In view of recent activities, there is perceptible threat (to Singh),” an official said citing inputs provided by central security agencies but did not elaborate.
Singh, a close aide of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh, will have a contingent of least two dozen armed commandos of the CISF as part of the ‘Z’ cover and they will secure him every time he is mobile in Uttar Pradesh.
When he is in Delhi, a small team of Delhi Police is expected to take up the same responsibility.
Singh, who became MP in May last year after a patch-up with SP leadership, has come into limelight again as Mulayam and his son Akhilesh Yadav are locked in a battle over the control of Samajwadi Party.
Officials said Amar Singh was a protectee of the central CISF cover from 2008 to mid-2016 and this task was transferred to UP Police by the Union Home Ministry later.
“The cover was withdrawn in mid-2016 by the Centre and UP Police was asked to take over.
“It has now again been revised to the earlier ‘Z’ category under the same force -- CISF,” an official added.
The cover has been accorded based on threat inputs provided by central security agencies that stated that Singh faces possible danger and hence should be brought under ‘proximate’ VIP security cover of central security forces commandos.
Singh also claimed that the signatures on affidavits which Ramgopal Yadav submitted to the Election Commission to prove majority support for Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav-led faction are forged and hence their authenticity is doubtful.
"The numbers of MLAs supporting you matters when a government has to be formed. It’s not the same for party symbol," Singh told ANI in an exclusive conversation.
Reiterating his support for Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Rajya Sabha MP said the national executive meeting called earlier on January 1 was not legal.
"Only elected president has right to call national executive meeting and no one can ignore the fact that Mulayam Singh Yadav was then the party president," he said.
Singh also trained his guns on Akhilesh loyalist Ramgopal, saying it was unconstitutional as per the party’s constitution to cancel the latter’s ouster from the Samajwadi Party.
Singh further said that they would stake claim to the party's name and symbol on Monday.
“We will visit the Election Commission on Monday and will give our memorandum. We will submit the list of old office bearers appointed before 1st of January,” he added.
Ramgopal on Sunday said that relevant documents, brought in ‘seven cartons with more than 1.5 lakh pages’, were submitted to the poll panel to assert Akhilesh’s right over the party name and symbol.
He said that he submitted affidavits of 4,716 delegates of the total 5,731, indicating overwhelming support for Akhilesh.
The Election Commission had given both sides time till January 9 to submit proof of their legislative support.
With inputs from ANI.
