Lucknow, Jan 24 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh government Thursday wrote a letter to the centrdal government renewing demand for a Special Protection Group (SPG) security cover for Chief Minister Mayawati.
This is the third such letter the state government has written to the centre, urging it to give in to Mayawati’s demand.
Sources have said that Union Minister of State for Home Shree Prakash Jaiswal, while turning down the demand on the grounds that no chief minister is entitled to SPG cover, has said that best that could be done is to increase the number of National Security Guards (NSG) attached to her.
Mayawati currently has 36 NSG guards at her service as part of her entitlement to Z-plus security.
Undeterred by the centre’s repeated refusal to oblige, the state government in its latest letter has said, “She (Mayawati) is a frequent traveller to different states of the country to campaign for her party.”
“Since SPG’s jurisdiction cuts across the boundaries of states, it would be in the fitness of things to ensure a SPG cover to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.”
“The security threat to her also necessitates that she be allowed to drive right up to her aircraft at all airports of the country,” it said.
It was the recovery of a roughly drawn map of the road leading to the chief minister’s residence Dec 28 from two suspected terrorists that prompted the state cabinet secretary to write to the union home ministry demanding SPG cover for her.
The next letter was on Jan 10 with the plea that a review of the chief minister’s security had confirmed the need for qualitative and quantitative enhancement of her protection.