Minister for Cooperation and Registration V.N. Vasavan has justified the security for the Chief Minister citing how Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his Kerala visit had a security contingent that was four-fold greater than that for the Chief Minister.
Addressing the media here on Tuesday, Mr. Vasavan dismissed Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan’s criticism that the security blanket for the Chief Minister was an indication of cowardice as an indirect barb against Mr. Gandhi.
“Rahul Gandhi had an even greater security cover. Does that mean that he is a coward? The life of the Chief Minister is as important as that of Rahul Gandhi. Who would have thought that attempt to attack the Chief Minister would have been made aboard a flight?” he asked.
Mr. Vasavan regarded the black flag waving protest against the Chief Minister as an easy ploy to garner attention. Jumping in front of the Chief Minister’s convoy not only posed a threat to the Chief Minister but also endangered the protesters.
Mr. Vasavan said there was no official ban on black colour in events attended by the Chief Minister and dismissed it as a media creation.
Asked whether the waving of black flag is not a permissible means of protest, Mr. Vasavan said that while it was, the nature of the protest had changed now. Previously, it was easier for the police to control organised protest marches unlike the present jumping in front of vehicles with black flags. He dismissed the removal of a black flag put up in mourning of a dead by the police (in Kannur) as an isolated incident.
The Chief Minister does not take decisions on his security. It is decided by the State Protocol Officer based on Central and State intelligence. If the security protocol is not followed and something happens to the Chief Minister, then that will be used as a stick to beat the government rhetorically asking how an administration unable to even protect its Chief Minister could protect its people, said Mr. Vasavan.
He said there were other Chief Ministers in the past who had moved around with with large security contingent and at breakneck speed, Only, there were no television channels at that time like now to highlight it, the Minister said.
