DMK leader MK Stalin may get Z-plus security cover

NEW DELHI: The home ministry DMK leader MK Stalin will review security of DMK leader MK Stalin and the government may upgrade his security cover after DMK chief M Karunanidhi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking for enhanced security for his son and political heir. Karunanidhi has apprehended a threat to Stalin’s life, saying his elder son M K Alagiri, a bitter rival of Stalin, had warned him that Stalin would die in three months.

Stalin already has a Z-level security cover from the CRPF, which entitles him to 28 security persons in various shifts plus a pilot and escort vehicle. Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani has a similar level of security.

However, an official at the Home Ministry did not rule out an upgrade for Stalin to the Z-plus level, which involves 36 security-men plus an additional bullet-proof vehicle, from the CRPF or even an NSG cover of black-cat commandos like the one given to his father and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

“CRPF is providing Z-plus security cover to former Punjab DGP K P S Gill and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Lalu Yadav. The same can be extended to Stalin too especially given political considerations as Congress trying to stitch up an alliance with the DMK,” a home ministry official told ET.