Parliament passed the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on 3 December. The bill was earlier passed by Lok Sabha on November 27, 2019.
Union minister for home affairs, Amit Shah said during the debate on the Bill that as per the intent of the original law, Special Protection Group (SPG) focussed on the prime minister’s security, as he was constitutionally the Head of the Government. It looked after the prime minister’s personal security, health, communication and secured the prime minister’s office (PMO) and the prime minister’s residence. It must not be made a status symbol and its mandate must not be diluted in deploying the specialized force for the security of a particular family, without naming the Gandhis. Shah also stressed that the Government was responsible for the security of 130 crore Indian citizens, which included the said family.
The home minister noted that there was a perception that the amendment in SPG Act was brought only for the purpose to remove the SPG security cover for the Gandhi family. Opposed to that, the Gandhi family’s security level was not being removed but was changed from SPG to Z+ with ASL (Advance Security Liaison) and 24X7 ambulance provision. This had been done on the basis of threat perception as per the original version of the law and the family’s security cover was at par with that of the home minister, defence minister, etc.
Taking a dig at the opposition benches, Shah said that the person who would be at the greatest disadvantage because of the amendment in the Act is the current prime minister, who would lose SPG cover five years after he demits office. He also remarked that the SPG security cover of several previous prime ministers had been removed in the past, but there were no protests previously.
The Government, earlier in August, downgraded the security cover of former prime minister Manomhan Singh, from SPG to Z+ of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The security cover of several other very important persons (VIPs), too, was downgraded.
The SPG protectees travel in special bullet proof or armoured cars. Under the SPG Act, the commandos carry ultra-modern assault rifles and the state governments are bound to meet the security cover demands of the SPG. An SPG protectee is entitled to use special choppers or aircraft of the Indian Air Force for transport.
Deciding on Level of Protection
The home ministry takes the decision based on inputs from intelligence agencies, which include the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). They largely give a subjective measure of threat to life or injury to a person from terrorists or any other group, based on information from their sources.
Certain individuals, by dint of their position in government, are automatically entitled to security cover. These include the prime minister and his immediate family. The home minister and officials such as the national security adviser (NSA), too, generally get security cover on the basis of their position.
Since none of the intelligence agencies in India is accountable to any statutory body, barring the internal oversight of the home and external affairs ministries, VIP security is sometimes seen as open to manipulation. A number of protectees, it has been alleged, were under security cover for political reasons and not necessarily due to any real threat.
The elite ‘Black Cat’ commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG) are deployed to protect VIPs for whom the threat perception is the highest.
Protection Levels
There are largely six types of security covers: X, Y, Y+, Z, Z+ and SPG. While SPG is meant only for the prime minister and his immediate family, other categories can be provided to anyone about whom the Centre or state governments have inputs about facing a threat.
The X category on an average entails just one gunman protecting the individual; Y has one gunman for mobile security and one (plus four on rotation) for static security; Y+ has two policemen on rotation for security and one (plus four on rotation) for residence security; Z has six gunmen for mobile security and two (plus eight) for residence security; Z+ has 10 security personnel for mobile security and two (plus eight) for residence security.
There are various kinds of cover within these levels. These include security of residence, mobile security, office security and inter-state security. Different VIPs are given different kinds of cover depending on threat perception.
Then, different forces may be engaged for residence and mobile security. Many protectees get residence security from state police and mobile security from a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF).
What is the SPG?
The SPG is a force raised specifically for the protection of the prime minister, former prime ministers and their immediate family. The force is currently 3,000 strong and protects only four people – prime minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and her daughter Priyanka Gandhi.
The elite force is highly trained in physical efficiency, marksmanship, combat and proximate protection tactics and is assisted by all central and state agencies to ensure foolproof security. SPG special agents assigned to the prime minister security detail wear black, Western-style formal business suits, with sunglasses, and carry a two-way encrypted communication earpiece, and concealed handguns. They wear safari suits on occasions.
Then there are special operations commandos who carry ultra-modern assault rifles, and wear dark-visor sunglasses with inbuilt communication earpieces, bulletproof vests, gloves and elbow/knee pads.
History of SPG
The SPG was raised in 1985 in the wake of the killing of prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. Earlier, Delhi police (before 1981) and Special Task Force (raised by the IB in 1981) provided residence and proximate security to the prime minister.
Following Indira Gandhi’s killing, a review committee of secretaries recommended formation of a special group under a designated officer and for Special Task Force (STF) to provide immediate security cover both in New Delhi and outside as a short-term measure.
In 1985, the Birbal Nath Committee set up by the home ministry recommended raising a Special Protection Unit (SPU), and 819 posts were created under the Cabinet Secretariat. The SPU was then re-christened SPG and the post of Inspector General of Police (IGP) was re-designated as director.
For three years, SPG functioned under executive orders. In 1988, Parliament passed the SPG Act. Then, the Act did not include former prime ministers. When VP Singh came to power in 1989, his government withdrew SPG protection given to his predecessor Rajiv Gandhi. After Rajiv’s assassination in 1991, Singh faced much criticism and the SPG Act was amended to offer protection to all former prime ministers and their families for at least 10 years.
In 2003, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government again amended the SPG Act to bring the period of automatic protection down from 10 years to “a period of one year from the date on which the former prime minister ceased to hold office” and beyond one year based on the level of threat as decided by the government. During the Vajpayee regime, the SPG cover of former prime ministers such as HD Deve Gowda, IK Gujaral and PV Narasimha Rao was withdrawn.
Who are the National Security Guard?
The NSG was founded as a special commando unit for surgical strikes against organised terrorist attacks within the country. It was envisaged in the wake of high casualties and damage during Operation Blue Star in 1984.
According to NSG’s website, it is a “Federal Contingency World Class Zero Error Force” to deal with terrorism. It says it is a force “specially trained and equipped to deal with specific situations and therefore to be used only in exceptional circumstances to thwart serious acts of terrorism”.
Yet its mandate of the force has been diluted over the years with the burden of VIP security. NSG has two groups of personnel and officers: Special Action Group (SAG) and Special Ranger Group (SRG). SAG is drawn from the Army and focuses on counter-terror training and action; SRG is used for VIP security.
NSG personnel have always been in high demand among politicians. The force has often argued that Black Cat commandos, as NSG personnel are popularly known on account of their combat dress, has become a status symbol and the government must take it off VIP security duties. That has not happened. NSG is not a protection unit; its core ability is in handling terror, hijacking, etc.
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Prime minister Narendra Modi at Rajpath on the occasion of the 69th Republic Day Parade.
The men who protect the PM. While those in suits form the inner ring of PM’s security set up, the others come out during Republic Day and I-Day for outer security cover
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CRPF Gets Gadgets Used by SPG
Although Special Protection Group (SPG) cover has been withdrawn from the three members of the Gandhi family – Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra – none of the vehicles, equipment and gadgets previously being used by the SPG have been withdrawn. Now, it is the CRPF that is using them to provide Z+ security to these three VVIPs.
However the official transfer of vehicles, equipment and gadgets from NSG to CRPF would take some time, the Gandhi family will continue to commute in the designated Range Rover SUVs which they had used under SPG protection.
In a smooth transition from the SPG to the CRPF, the latter has been providing security to Gandhis and two others as per Z+ security norms. The other two protectees who had SPG cover in the past are former prime minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur. Manmohan and his wife’s SPG cover was withdrawn prior to Gandhis.
While an SPG protectee is guarded by nearly 100 SPG commandos, the one with Z+ cover is guarded by a team of 55, which includes at least 10 National Security Guard (NSG) commandos. The CRPF deploys its strength (number of personnel) as per the location where the Z+ protectee has been visiting. Also, the team providing Z+ security cover to Gandhi family members have NSG commandos in it who have earlier served at NSG.
