Uncle Gurdas spared,security of Badals may go up

As Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badals home department goes about pruning security of state VIPs,members of Badal family,including those with whom ties have soured,have been spared the cut,at least for now.

As Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badals home department goes about pruning security of state VIPs,members of Badal family,including those with whom ties have soured,have been spared the cut,at least for now. On the contrary,the security paraphernalia of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and son Sukhbir may go up after the review of threat perception by the state intelligence.

Home minister Sukhbir has also not brought down the security cover of Uncle Gurdas,father of his estranged nephew Manpreet Badal who has parted ways with the party and the family. Gurdas had contested from Lambi seat against the chief minister as a candidate of Peoples Party of Punjab headed by Manpreet. A former Member of Parliament,he has 26 gunmen,two escort vehicles and a Montero.

Others in the spared list include former Youth Akali Dal president Kiranbir Singh Kang who was won over by the chief minister before state elections in a much-publicised home visit after falling out with Sukhbirs brother-in-law and now revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia.

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But the home department says security is only being withdrawn where it was more of a status symbol than genuine threat perception. When it comes to security,there is no such thing as entitlement. It is purely done on the basis of threat perception. Security cover of only those protectees has been cut down who did not need it. The exercise is a continuation of home ministers police reforms initiated in the previous tenure, said ADGP (Intelligence and security) Hardeep Singh Dhillon.

For the state which had to summon 18 companies of paramilitary forces in March during the tension over hanging of Balwant Singh Rajoana,an accused in assassination of former CM Beant Singh,it would mean having its own quick reaction teams (QRTs) in times of law and order emergencies. Over 3,000 police personnel relieved from personal duty can go into raising 25-30 companies as they are already trained in handling arms. More men would also mean better traffic management and better policing, Dhillon added.

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Uncle Gurdas spared,security of Badals may go up

As Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badals home department goes about pruning security of state VIPs,members of Badal family,including those with whom ties have soured,have been spared the cut,at least for now.

As Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badals home department goes about pruning security of state VIPs,members of Badal family,including those with whom ties have soured,have been spared the cut,at least for now.