500 SPG guards to guard Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Over 500 men of the Special Protection Group ( SPG) could be deployed to guard Narendra Modi, who will enjoy the tightest security cover ever, once he takes over as the prime minister.

Modi faces a bigger threat than any of his predecessors from terrorists according to intelligence agencies, senior home ministry officials told ET, adding that the SPG personnel would provide security in the form of “ring round teams” at the prime minister’s residence and office, besides guarding the isolation cordons and the sterile zone during his appearances at public events and rostrum and access control to his dais and venues.

The SPG, with a budget of Rs. 408 crore in the current fiscal for a staff of less than 4,000 personnel, has the highest man-budget ratio among all security forces in the country. Besides Modi, the force has to guard just five persons – Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AB Vajpayee.

To better understand how the Gujarat police handled the security of Modi, a team of the SPG has gone to Gandhinagar. “The SPG will formally take over the security only after Modi is sworn in as the PM. Right now, the SPG, on an informal level, is coordinating with NSG, which continues to provide him a Z-plus security cover,” said a home ministry official, who did not wish to be named.

Modi as PM will have a bigger convoy than Manmohan Singh, primarily due to the heightened threat perception. Although Modi already had a tight security cover, it was of SPG level only in name since the SPG cover comes with added layers of security like a dedicated aircraft at home and abroad, armoured bullet-proof BMWs and support of various SPG wings.