After incident with MoS, CISF asks for fresh circular on airport security

30 Apr 2007

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New Delhi: After a reported tiff with minister of state (MoS) for external affairs, Anand Sharma, the country's para military force, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), has written to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) asking it to clarify the status of ministers of state in the Union cabinet, as regards departure protocols at airports, through a circular.

The move comes even as the force, which is responsible for maintaining security at the country's airports, has come under increasing pressure from various MoS's and sundry VIPs who like to throw their weight around and avoid undergoing mandatory security checks. After the latest incident with MoS Anand Sharma, the force has decided to resolve the issue once and for all.

The incident involving Sharma reportedly took place on 20 April, when he was due to leave for New York to attend an international Hindi conference. As the incident escalated, CISF chief RK Das was forced to intervene. MoS Anand Sharma was asked to follow rules.

The rules, as they exist, say that an MoS, even if he or she leads an official delegation, does not fall in the list of 23 persons/categories exempted from pre-embarkation checks. The list includes the president, prime minister, cabinet ministers, the chief justice of India and other VVIPs.

The ministry of external affairs (MEA), however, sought to downplay the incident, with the ministry's spokesman, Navtej Sarna, saying on Sunday, "The arrival and departure of ministers in the MEA on official visits is handled by its protocol division as per standard practice as was the case on this occasion also."

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