Punjab govt withdraws security provided to Congress MP Bajwa
Aug 08, 2020
Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], Aug 8 : The Punjab government has decided to withdraw the state police security provided to Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pratap Singh Bajwa after an assessment showed that he had virtually no threat perception and was, in any case, now getting central security directly from the Union Home Ministry.
A state government official spokesperson said the state police security provided to Bajwa had become redundant since he had procured personal security directly from Home Minister Amit Shah.
According to the spokesperson, the central security Bajwa had got was not at the behest of the Congress leadership. "In fact, the Union Home Ministry had not even consulted the state government to gauge the threat perception, which is usually done before providing central security to any person," he added.
"Bajwa, as Rajya Sabha MP, may have simply approached the party's leader in the House, Ghulam Nabi Azad, to seek central security, and as is the norm, the latter could have simply sent his request to the Union Home Ministry. However, for some reason, the Home Ministry chose not to discuss the matter of Bajwa's threat perception with the state government in this case, which was a clear deviation from the norm followed in such cases," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said Bajwa has actually been getting enhanced security from Punjab Police, way beyond what he was entitled to as Rajya Sabha MP.
"Bajwa was given Z Category security cover by the MHA on March 19 and as of date has 25 CISF personnel for personal security, house protection and escort, besides two escort drivers. Till March 23, he also had 14 Punjab Police personnel deployed with him but a few were withdrawn for COVID-19 duties. He currently has 6 Punjab Police personnel and an escort with a driver, which are now being withdrawn," said the spokesperson.
