Rahul Gandhi’s security was breached in the yatra but this should not have led to a political row

Certain things should be beyond controversy and political debate; one of them is the personal security of top leaders. But, alas, everything gets politicised in these polarised times. So, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal writes to Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that Delhi Police erred in former party president Rahul Gandhi’s security as the Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through the national capital. The grand old party also wanted proper security in the Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir legs of the yatra for Gandhi who is entitled to a Z+ cover. Why couldn’t this communication be private between the GOP and the Home Minister? Why should it be out in the public glare in the first place? Not unexpectedly, the Central Reserve Police Force’s response has also been made public. The Central paramilitary force has accused Gandhi of having breached security protocol on several occasions when the yatra was in Delhi. The CRPF claims that it followed all security guidelines. Security arrangements made for the protectee works fine when the protectee themselves adhere to the security guidelines laid down for them, the CRPF said, adding that Gandhi violated the guidelines on several occasions. In fact, the force pointed out that since 2020 there have been 113 violations observed and there were duly communicated to him. If that is correct, then the Congress top brass would be well advised to discuss the matter with Gandhi instead of training its guns at the paramilitary force.

Security breaches do happen, as was the case during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab in January. The breaches should be scrutinised and those responsible must be penalised. At any rate, these should not be used to derive political mileage. But politicians have little regard for such niceties. In January, the Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the Congress government, asserting that a “major security lapse” could not have happened without chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s sanction. The Justice Indu Malhotra Committee, which looked into the matter, found that the then district Senior Superintendent of Police Harmandeep Singh Hans failed to discharge his duty. No sanction from the chief minister was found, and yet such an allegation was made. And now the Congress is accusing the CRPF—whose officers and men are committed to protect politicians even at the expense of their own lives—of being negligent. Our leaders, in a bid to demonstrate their affection for people, often disregard the expert advice of security officers. If this occasions any lapses, the onus should lie with the protectee, not the security personnel concerned. The real problem is that politicians have little hesitation in discarding the norms of civilised discourse if they feel that they could outdo or embarrass their rivals. They get such a feeling quite often. Gandhi’s security breach was one such occasion. They didn’t miss it.