Who’s 13th on the list?

It was a select group and the three services chiefs have been allowed entry into the prestigious list of VIPs exempt from pre-embarking security checks at airports. However, in doing so, the Civil Aviation Ministry seems to have stopped the list from expanding for some time to come. The Ministry, alarmed by the number of dignitaries asking for security exemption, have hit on a novel idea for turning down requests. After the public protest last month, it was found that in the President’s ‘warrant of precedence’, the three chiefs come in at number 12. The earlier exemption list had included only the first 11 posts. With the list now settled at a comfortable and safe 12, the Ministry feels it cannot cater to more demands given that such an exercise would have to involve the inauspicious number 13!