Day after dinner thaw, Amar Singh gets what he asked for: Z security

NEW DELHI, MAY 23: A day after according him star status at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s dinner, the Congress-led UPA Government has honoured a longstanding demand of Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh and upgraded his security to the Z category.

According to Home Ministry sources, orders were issued today after an internal meeting on Thursday where the decision was taken.

Currently, Amar Singh enjoys Y security which allows him about a dozen police personnel on rotation. In his new status, the SP leader will get a vehicle escort besides double the number of security personnel.

For over a year now, Amar Singh has petitioned the Central government to increase his security. First, in the wake of UP elections and then after UP Chief Minister Mayawati downscaled his security. On May 10, he met the Prime Minister and once again made the request and announced that this was the last time he was approaching the UPA government for additional protection.

This time, the government too appears to have decided to give sufficient weightage to political considerations. In a new season of warmth between the Congress and the SP, sources said, Amar Singh’s request suddenly found more relevance. Last night, the PM himself made it clear that there was a need to “forge a consensus on national issues with likeminded political forces”. He said so in Amar Singh’s presence, indicating a rejuvenation of the “secular alliance”.

In this backdrop, enhanced security for Amar Singh is an outright political gesture. In fact, last night the SP leader reminded Home Minister Shivraj Patil of his request and narrated how some sleuths claiming from Intelligence Bureau had allegedly entered his house in Kolkata recently. He went on to add that these were “Mayawati’s men” masquerading as personnel from Central agencies. Patil assured him that his request was being looked into and that the government will “do something for him”.

A year earlier, the mood was completely different. In the run up to the UP elections last year, Congress was clearly leaning towards the Bahujan Samaj Party. The Centre upgraded Mayawati’s security and later allowed her to travel up to the tarmac in a car whenever she had to board a plane. The bonhomie lasted till the Presidential elections, where the BSP supported Pratibha Patil’s candidacy.

However, in recent times, Mayawati has begun demanding SPG security for herself. The Centre has obviously turned it down as “unreasonable” given that the SPG is meant for the PM, former PMs and their close family members. Despite this, a tussle continues between the state and the Centre.

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