Manmohan Singh's daughters show the way, give up SPG cover

It’s easy to identify who the Indian establishment views as a VIP. It’s invariably the person who’s surrounded by policemen or security personnel and has a police car leading a convoy. For many, it’s a privilege to be flaunted. And then there are Daman and Upinder Singh, the daughters of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. According to an Economic Times report, the two have voluntarily reliquished the Special Protection Group cover to which they are entitled. While Daman’s cover has already been removed, Upinder’s is in the process of being removed. [caption id=“attachment_2443290” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “I was in a hurry to get it removed and really pushed hard… If I had my way, I wouldn’t want any security,” Daman  told the newspaper. While Daman and Upinder sought that the protective cover be removed completely, their wish hasn’t been granted as they are still going to have a Delhi Police team providing them security. The Ministry of Home Affairs said that their security had been downgraded since the threat perception was low, but has continued to maintain SPG cover for their father. Earlier this year, the government downgraded the security cover provided to Manmohan Singh’s son-in-law Ashok Patnaik, who is an IPS official posted with the Intelligence Bureau. The rejection of security is a refreshing change from most cases where VIPs hold on to security from the state well after stepping down from their positions of power. As this Mint report pointed out, a 2012 Bureau of Police Research and Development report, there were over 45,000 personnel engaged in protecting over 14,000 VIPs across the country. As the Economic Times points out, the SPG alone, which protects select persons, has a budget of a whopping Rs 330 crore and is the most expensive of the security forces. But it’s not like its any cheaper to protect others. Some estimates suggest at least Rs 600 crore of taxpayer money goes towards paying the salary of non-SPG personnel engaged in protecting VIPs. The removal of SPG cover for Manmohan Singh’s daughters is bound to save the government a pretty penny. It’s a pity other VIPs aren’t lining up to emulate them.