Mayawati, Jayalalitha refuse to accept women commandos
Mayawati, Jayalalitha refuse to accept women commandos | News Views
New Delhi: The National Security Guard on Tuesday for the first time showcased its women commando unit — trained in all forms of combat and ready to take on all contingencies.
The government, however, is in a fix on how to use these commandos after former UP CM Mayawati and Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalitha refused to have women as their ’shadows’.
Sources said the 25-member unit was raised to provide VIP security. “It was envisaged that they could be used to guard women VIPs who would feel comfortable being guarded by female commandos,” said an official from the security establishment.
However, Mayawati and Jayalalitha, who have been accorded Z+ security with NSG’s Black Cats guarding them, did not show much enthusiasm for the new plan, sources said. Both are still guarded by NSG men. Security attachment for a VIP is decided by the Centre on the basis of threat perception assessed by intelligence agencies. There is no official provision for VIPs to decide what kind of security contingent guards them.
Sources said the force’s women commando unit has been raised through the same training as that of male commandos and has all the skills of their male counterparts. Not surprisingly, the force chose to showcase their skills on the 28th NSG Raising Day parade at Manesar on Tuesday where, in a counter-terror mock drill, female commandos slithered down a rope from an aircraft and raided the drill premises with their guns blazing.
Praising the unit, NSG DG Subhash Joshi said, “We do not discriminate between men and women in our force. Our female commandos are as good as our men and will be put to all duties as and when the time and requirement arises.”
Sources in the home department, however, said that given that they were raised with VIP security in mind, their training would have to be recalibrated to see if they can be used in anti-terror operations. The force is undecided over it.
Meanwhile, the Centre has extended Z+ security cover of NSG commandos to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Sources said Akhilesh will have round-the-clock mobile security of 10-12 ‘Black Cats’ after the Union home ministry decided to extend the elite security cover to the CM based on the threat perception about him. Akhilesh’s father and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav already enjoys NSG security.
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