The recent decision on the spat between the minister of state for external affairs and the security personnel at Indira Gandhi International Airport (‘Anand Sharma gets what he created a scene for.’, The Sunday Express, June 17) highlights that privilege for some can be dangerous for all. A couple of months back, this newspaper had reported that the minister had refused to go through the required pre-embarkation security checks, even as a committed CISF staffer stood his ground. The minister then threw a tantrum and the CISF official had, finally, to give in. The angry minister then spent the next few months lobbying for inclusion in the exclusive category of VIPs exempt from security checks. The result: instead of being pulled up, he has managed to bag the privilege for all ministers of state — 44 in all. Such ad hoc decisions, taken under pressure, will further encourage abuses by people in power. Worse, this particular move will put the lives of lakhs of passengers in danger. After all, human trafficking, kidnapping, murder, espionage are not petty offences; yet several people who enjoy this immunity have been suspected of involvement in such offences. It seems the government has not paid any heed to this aspect. No VIP is above law in any democracy. Yet, the government has callously gone ahead bestowing special privileges that can easily compromise the security of air travellers. All security-cleared passengers assemble in a common departure area before boarding their respective flights. This is a sanitised area. However, privileged VIPs are allowed access to this space without being scanned. If they choose to walk in with a small weapon or a bomb, nobody will be any wiser. What if a VIP hands over a weapon (knowingly or unknowingly) to someone travelling on a different flight? With today’s breed of criminally tainted ministers, can anyone guarantee that such an incident will never happen? If an MP can be bribed to ask a question in the Lower House, can he or she not be bribed to hand over a parcel to a passenger, after security clearance. Do we need another Parliament attack or Kandahar to wake up to such possibilities?What’s shocking is that the government prefers to further expand the list of those excluded from security checks, instead of trimming it. If the PM had announced that he would go through the security checks before boarding any aircraft, none of the ministers would have dared ask for such special privileges. At least, a message would have been sent out, loud and clear. In any case, are such privileges really required? Do they help ministers discharge their duties more efficiently? Or are they simply created to make them feel important. A couple of years ago, the government — for the first time in the history of the country — bestowed this privilege to an individual (Robert Vadera) and not an office. One wonders how the government justified this move, especially since VVIPs, in any case, have a separate entrance at airports and dedicated CISF staff to clear security in no time. Checking such abuse of power will increase the security of millions. Surely such an outcome is more valuable than an extra minute of VVIP time?
