The UPA government will soon decide on the set of VIPs who are in ‘‘actual’’ need of Black Cat cover.The Home Ministry has already begun preparing a list of UPA ministers and leaders of ally parties to recommend for the Z-plus NSG security. At the same time, the threat perception to the existing 14 NSG protectees is being reviewed. ‘‘The Home Ministry is also reviewing the perceived threat to members and partners of the new government,’’ said a Home Ministry official.So, while there will be some new VIPs to move around with NSG commandoes, some of the existing ones are bound to lose the protectee status. ‘‘Though some of the existing NSG protectees may lose the NSG cover, they may continue to have a lower level of security provided by local state police. The new government may not want to take a chance,’’ he added.The list of VIPs, protected by the NSG, include former chief ministers Bhajan Lal, Parkash Singh Badal, Mayawati, Rajnath Singh, Kalyan Singh, Farooq Abdullah, M. Karunanidhi and Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. Among the present CMs, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Narendra Modi and J. Jayalalithaa have NSG cover. Others include Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani, former Youth Congress president Maninderjit Singh Bitta and newspaper proprietor Ashwani Kumar Minna.‘‘There are many in the list who have no threat from any terrorist or criminal group but they continue to enjoy the NSG security at state cost. Protecting each person incurs a cost of over Rs 1 crore every year. It is all borne by the government. And in several cases, it is more a matter of prestige to roam around with Black Cat commandoes,’’ said an official.However, there are others who have refused NSG cover to avoid attracting too much attention. ‘‘The Home Ministry had offered NSG security to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed when he became J-K Chief Minister. But he refused, saying he was happy with the security provided by his state police. He wanted them to know that he trusted them and had complete faith in them,’’ the official added.But apparently not all VIPs have so much faith in their state police. According to sources, there is a long list of people asking for Black Cat security cover.
