Over protected politicians

Are we paying tax for security of our politicians or for development ....... for security of ourselves and family...... for goodwill of infrastructure. ........ ???????????? ????????? ????

Despite the numerous terror strikes in India, the budget of counter-terrorism units has come down this year while the budget for the Special Protection Group, which protects VIPs, has gone up.

Rs 180 crore of the taxpayer's money is being shelled out annually to provide Z-class security to the PM, the Gandhi family, the leader of Opposition and a handful of other VVIP's .


The focus is so squarely on VIP protection that in Delhi alone, 15,000 men of the 60,000-strong Delhi Police are busy protecting around 400 VIPs.


In the 2008-09 the budget for the elite National Security Guards, was actually cut short to Rs 158 crore, from Rs 159 crore the previous year, But the budget for the Special Protection Group, which protects VIPs, went up from Rs 117 crore in 2007-2008 to Rs 180 crore in 2008-09.


Sources say that at least 30 per cent of the VIPs getting top security don't need any and 50 per cent can do with lighter security.


Home Minister P Chidambaram may have refused a Z security cover but his predecessor Shivraj Patil had no qualms about availing it.


There are other politicians who have said no to VVIP security in the past like Left leaders Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury and A B Barbhan, who shunned security, at times choosing to travel in their own cars.



In the next budget hope we can see some good changes ...

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Top Bengal Maoist leader in police net

A top Maoist leader of West Bengal has been arrested by sleuths of the state's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) from a railway station near here, police said Sunday.

Somen, whose real name is Himadri Sen Roy, is the state secretary of Communist Party of India-Maoist, police claimed. He was held Saturday evening and his associate Deba was also arrested simultaneously, said Rajiv Kumar, CID deputy inspector general (operations).

Somen was arrested from Hridaypur railway station in North 24 Parganas district, about 25 km from here. The Maoist leader had tried to break free but was finally captured with the help of local people and tea stall owners.

Police recognised him from his stammering, a speech disorder about which they had prior knowledge.

He would later be produced in Barasat special court, while Deba would be produced in Chandannagore court in Hooghly district.

Somen has been charged with waging war against the state and plotting the killings of several Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders and police officers of West Bengal.

A Maoist since the 1970s, the 52-year-old had been on the run for years but has never been arrested before, police said.

'This is a breakthrough in our war against the Maoists,' said Kumar, who led the team that caught Somen.

CID officers said Somen had masterminded the killing of CPI-M leaders Rabi Kar and Mahendra Mahato in Purulia, Barikul officer-in-charge Prabal Sengupta in Bankura and Bandwan Officer-incharge Nilmadhab Das in Purulia.

Reports said he had ordered the murder of CPI-M leader and school headmaster Karamchand Singh in West Midnapore's Belpahari on Feb 22.

Officers said they had received a tip-off that Somen would meet an associate on platform No.2 of Hridaypur railway station.

The Maoist leader arrived at Hridaypur station at around 5 p.m. and began talking to the associate. Immediately, two disguised CID officers approached him and struck up a conversation.

'We wanted to verify his identity. We knew Somen stammered,' an officer said. 'As soon as he began speaking, we knew we had our man.'

The two officers grabbed Somen. His associate Dilip Mandi alias Deba was chased and caught.

According to a report, in a recent article in CPI-Maoist organ Biplabi Yug, which Somen edits, the rebel leader had said his outfit had formed the front line in the Nandigram land war.

'We were in Nandigram right from the beginning,' he wrote. 'We led the movement at every step.... We were in Nandigram, we are in Nandigram and we will continue to remain in Nandigram.'

Somen, who is from Suryanagar in Khardah, North 24-Parganas, joined the Maoist Communist Centre in the '70s and later the People's War Group.

Since the CPI-Maoist was formed a few years ago, Somen has been overseeing its West Bengal operations.

Nuclear energy 'best' to cut greenhouse gases: Bush

US President George W. Bush Thursday strongly pitched for nuclear power to meet growing energy needs, saying it is the 'best solution' to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"If you're truly serious about dealing with greenhouse gases, then it seems like to me you ought to be a strong supporter of nuclear power. Nuclear power enables us to generate electricity without emitting one unit of greenhouse gases" Bush told a White House press conference.

"I am amazed that our country isn't more robust in supporting the advent of nuclear power-I certainly am-and applaud those efforts by members of the Congress to provide incentives for the construction of new plants," he said.

Bush said nuclear energy is the best solution for economic growth and to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions.

"But if you're somebody who says greenhouse gases are of vital national interest, then you ought to be saying 'I'm for the development of nuclear power plants. It is by far the best solution to making sure we have economic growth and, at the same time, be good stewards of the environment," Bush said.

Funny Politics British Prime Minister Tony Blair yawns

British Prime Minister Tony Blair yawns as he sits on a terrasse prior the second working session on the second day of the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany June 7, 2007. AFP PHOTO