For a direct connect with Indians: Why PM Modi got bullet-proof shield removed

For anyone who has watched an Independence day speech by the prime minister with even a passing interest, just a glimpse of Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking on Friday would have been enough to see that there was a major departure from tradition, convention and the advice of security agencies. The bullet proof glass around the prime minister’s dias was conspicuously missing, a clear indication that Modi had insisted upon there being nothing in the way of his reaching out to his listeners during his maiden Independence Day address as PM. [caption id=“attachment_1666387” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the nation from the Red Fort. PTI[/caption] The last time a prime minister spoke from Red Fort without the protective shield was in the 1980s, when Indira Gandhi was PM. The Economic Times reports bullet proof shields for PM made an appearance after her assassination in 1984 and became more and more conspicuous until 2004, the year the 360-degree tube-like enclosure was fabricated for Manmohan Singh, one he used until 2013. The report says, “At least two senior officials in the security establishment told ET that Modi had made it clear “days in advance” that he would not speak from behind any bullet-proof shield despite intelligence agencies flagging off a series of terror inputs which indicated an all-time high threat to the PM.” In spite of that, security agencies were reportedly taking no chances and installed the bullet proof glass as has been the convention. In fact, The Indian Express reports that when Doordarshan completed its dress rehearsal on AUgust 13, the enclosure was certainly in place. There are always elaborate security drills in place for a function of such prominence and throughuo0t these exercises over the span of 48 hours ahead of the speech, the shield around the lectern was definitely in place. The removal of the enclosure was done at the very last minute, to ensure complete secrecy. Not even Doordarshan or Ministry of Defence officials were aware of the plan. Finally, in the wee hours of Friday, barely five hours before the prime minister’s address, the shield was removed, leading unfortunately to a dislocation of some fibre optic cables that led to Doordarshan officials going into a tense huddle. The glitch was finally restored. Given that Modi had planned his address to be an unprecedented, direct conversation with Indians, during which he would ask them to take charge and be accountable for India’s aspirations ranging from cleanliness to women’s security, the prime minister clearly did not want a barrier hindering his style. In fact, at a Rashtrapati Bhavan function in the evening also, despite security concerns, the prime minister reportedly mingled freely with guests, even signing autographs for children.