Security for some, silence for others
BRS’s RS Praveen Kumar says the Congress government cut his cover without showing its homework, and warns of a court fight. Courts say security follows threat, not favour — which makes the missing criteria the whole question.
The security review has reduced protection for nearly 300 people, while its criteria remain undisclosed.
BRS general secretary and former IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar on Wednesday alleged the Congress government in Telangana is selectively pruning security cover and said the party will move court if it is not explained. He said a notice from the DGP proposed pulling his bulletproof vehicle and reducing his cover on the ground there is “no extremist threat in Telangana”. That is his account of the notice; the government has not put the document or the criteria in public. According to him, the Security Review Committee should publish its report and apply one yardstick to all.
What is on the record: a sweeping review touched nearly 300 protectees — serving and former police officers and public representatives — with reductions based on threat perception, according to independent reporting. The Telangana High Court, in a petition by former Narsampet MLA Peddi Sudarshan Reddy, recorded that the SRC proposed withdrawal and ordered that his existing protection continue until the Commissioner of Police decides after considering his reply. In a separate case, the court held there is no vested right to continued state security; it must track current threat, case by case.
Which brings it back to transparency. If the Congress government’s review is genuinely threat-led, publish the yardstick and the individual reasons — not just a headcount and a shrug. The court has already told the state to hear affected individuals before final orders; that is process, not charity. The Congress government in Telangana has yet to explain why its criteria are secret while its cuts are public.