Should all of Parliament security be with CISF? Panel will examine

Last month, the CISF was brought in to replace 150 personnel of the Delhi Police, who used to be deployed alongside the Parliament Security Service. The change was prompted by the security breach on December 13 last year, during which a few people managed to enter the Parliament Hall and open smoke canisters.

Now, deliberations are underway to assess whether the CISF can take over the security entirely. “Strength of the Parliament Security Service is anyway thin since, for the last many years, no fresh recruitments have taken place,” a source said.

An order issued on May 3 by the Ministry of Home Affairs states: “With the approval of competent authority in MHA, it has been decided to constitute a Joint Survey Team for conducting re-survey of Parliament House Complex to deploy additional CISF personnel for taking over duties of Parliament Security Service.”

The It calls upon Ajay Kumar DIG, CISF, to coordinate with other members of the Joint Survey Team and furnish a report “at the earliest.”

Kumar heads the seven-member survey team, which will include a representative each from the Intelligence Bureau, Delhi Police and Parliament Security.

The order also mentions the duties the CISF could be expected to take charge of: Central Pass Issuing Cell (CPIC) for both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha; regulating access for MPs, VIPs, senior government functionaries, etc; controlling access to lobbies and galleries; issuing temporary passes; regulating movement in the Press Gallery; coordinating with other security agencies; security arrangements during the Presidential addresses; Presidential and vice-presidential elections; and assistance and protection of the Chair.

“These functions are taken care of by the Watch and Ward staff, who are specially trained for handling MPs, visitors and media with respect and dignity,” said a source in Parliament House.

Flagging potential issues with the move, PDT Achary, the former Lok Sabha Secretary General, told The Indian Express, “Parliament is not like an airport or any other public sector undertaking, it has MPs coming from all parts of India. Parliament security is a part of the Lok Sabha Secretariat and its job is to protect the interest of MPs and facilitate things for them. This cannot be performed by any outside security agency. Parliament security service consists of well-trained personnel who cannot be replaced by a security agency that has no experience in dealing with Members of Parliament. It is under the control of the Speaker and if at all there’s a need to change the composition of the parliamentary security system, it has to be done under the direction of the Speaker, not by the MHA. It cannot be performed by any ministry.”

The Parliament Security Service came into existence with the formation of the Watch and Ward Committee on September 3, 1929, an initiative taken by Vithalbhai Patel, then president of the Central Legislative Assembly. This followed a bomb throwing incident in the Lok Sabha chamber in April 1929 by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt.

The committee works independently under the Lok Sabha Speaker. While a joint secretary (security) looks after the entire Parliament House complex, the director (security) of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has operational control over the Upper House, and the director of the Lok Sabha secretariat over the lower house. Currently, Parliament Security Service is “solely responsible for management of access control and regulation of people, material and vehicles within the historical and prestigious Parliament House complex”.

Its personnel played a key role foiling the December 13, 2001 Parliament attack, during which two of them — Matbar Singh Negi and Jagdish Prasad Yadav — laid down their lives.

An official pointed out that it is important for the Parliament to have a specially trained group that is independent from the executive. “It is essential to ensure that the government of the day does not limit access to Parliament, impose its security on Parliament, or limit Parliament’s potential use of the precincts,” the official said. Article 98 of the Constitution also mandates each House to have a separate secretariat staff.