India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has been provided CRPF security cover and it is appropriate that he is being asked to pay for the cover. Even then objections have been aired by the likes of the Aam Aadmi Party of Arvind Kejriwal.
A state cannot afford to have its authority eroded by threats posed to its prominent citizens, even if they do not hold administrative or political office. Much as the UK secured the life of the litterateur Salman Rushdie against fatwas issued in Iran, India must be responsible in providing security to those who are threatened.
Security is not something that can be worn as a badge of office. Nor should private security comprising ex-servicemen and the likes be allowed to operate with heavy arms that are usually handled only by active members of the armed forces. Also, there would be nothing wrong in the government sharing intelligence about threat perceptions with its own personnel who are assigned to protect anyone, be it an industrialist or heads of political parties.
Political parties can set an example by paying for the upkeep of the apparatus that provides cover for its leaders rather than demand it as a right. Apparently, the higher alphanumerical security cover codes are coveted because they invest the personality with greater importance. Truth to tell, we cannot as a nation afford to lose anyone to assassination or acts of terror. It is the credibility of the state that suffers each time a terrorist succeeds.