Yogi joins select band of top NSG protectees

NEW DELHI: The Centre has decided to upgrade the security of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath to the highest Z-Plus category, with protection detail from the elite National Security Guard (NSG).

“Yogi Adityanath is going to be an NSG protectee. Formal orders are expected soon,” a senior home ministry official said.

With this, Adityanath will join an elite club of politicians with just 12 other members.

The NSG specialises in providing security when the protectee is on the move. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also guarded by the NSG during his stint as the Gujarat chief minister.

Besides Adityanath, three other heavyweight politicians from Uttar Pradesh — former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati – also enjoy NSG protection.

VIP security is provided under four categories — Z-Plus, Z, Y and X —in keeping with a threat perception analysis by the Intelligence Bureau. While state governments have their own protectee lists, prime ministers as well as former premiers are guarded by the Special Protection Group.

Before this, Adityanath was guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force — under Y category — as the Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur.

People protected by the NSG are entitled to a bulletproof car, two escort vehicles and around 40 personnel each.

While the NSG guards the chief minister from close quarters, the state police will have their own security arrangements in place under the Z-Plus category.

Though there has been demand for reducing the workload of the NSG, which is essentially a counter-terror and antihijacking commando force, the Centre is yet to come up with a credible alternative.