At Our Politicians now with reduced POPULARITY....!!!

The home ministry has withdrawn the security cover of more than 20 important personages and reduced that of some others who it felt were overprotected. The level of security provided to a number of other VIPs is also being examined, and may be changed in coming weeks.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram is clearly delivering on his promise to undertake, within six months of taking charge, a comprehensive review of the security provided to VIPs.

Thus in the past week, the security cover of persons whose security threat appeared negligible -- including former MP and actor Govinda, former chief justice of India Y. K. Sabarwal and Uttar Pradesh strongman cum politician D. P. Yadav -has been removed altogether, while that of former home minister Shivraj Patil and the BJP's Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi, has been significantly reduced.

In the capital alone, there are 450 people in the category of `Protected Persons' who get some degree of state-provided security. They are divided, in ascending order of increased security, into `X', `Y', `Z' and `Z+' sub-categories.

Opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani's security cover, for instance, comprises a staggering 258 men. Samajwadi Party heavyweight Amar Singh has 59 people guarding him, Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan 57, former vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat 47, chairman of the national commission for scheduled castes Buta Singh, 35.

Around 100-120 policemen on average are attached to a police station in Delhi. The level of increased policing that would be possible if these men were freed up is staggering.

"Cutting down security makes a minister unpopular. That's why earlier no home minister did it," said a senior official.
"The tendency was always to increase VIP security, not reduce it, whether needed or not."

Chidamabaram has also set a personal example, by refusing to increase his security above the Y category, though as home minister, he could well have done so.

at our beloved PM

Seems our PM has insider information ;)
Danger lurks: Pak terrorists may strike again, says PM

India has “credible information” of plans by terrorist groups in Pakistan to carry out attacks in India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a conference of chief ministers on internal security on Monday.

This was the first time after the controversial joint statement in Sharm El-Sheikh, which de-linked talks between the two countries from anti-terror action by Pakistan, that Singh was attacking Islamabad on terrorism.

Singh had also skipped any reference to Pakistan in his Independence Day address. But on Monday, he made it clear that the threat from groups in Pakistan had not abated. And that Pakistan was not off the hook yet.

“Cross-border terrorism remains the most pervasive threat,” he told the chief ministers, adding there was a surge in infiltration this year.

He agreed with Home Minister P Chidambaram that India could not lower its guard.

Better intelligence and better preparedness had helped thwart potential terror attacks, said Chidambaram, but “it does not mean that the threat of terror has vanished or receded”.

Within hours, the BJP pounced on Singh.

BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in Visakhapatnam India should withdraw from the joint statement. In Delhi, spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said a serious question arose over the joint statement in view of Singh’s remarks.

The BJP had walked out of Lok Sabha during a debate on the joint statement in the last session accusing the Manmohan Singh government of giving away too much to Pakistan.

The home minister, however, explained that Singh’s usage of “credible information” did not mean there was a specific threat of an imminent attack. But that there are terrorists groups plotting to attack.

On his part, Singh acknowledged “disturbing trends” in Jammu and Kashmir despite the low violence profile. He said there been a surge in infiltrations, by people who “appear more battle-hardened, better equipped and in possession of sophisticated communications.”

Security agencies in Kashmir say infiltrators detected this year were found equipped with global positioning systems, satellite phones and no longer depended on radio communications that was easily intercepted.

“Besides, they are also much better trained, like the ones who carried out the Mumbai attacks,” an intelligence officer said.

Intelligence agencies estimate nearly 200 terrorists have infiltrated into India already this year as against 342 in all of 2008, many of them worryingly during the winter months when infiltration usually dips due to snow."

Hundreds of villagers beat up Member of Legislative Assembly and a Member of Parliament on Sunday.

Hundreds of villagers protesting the formation of the proposed Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation beat up Member of Legislative Assembly Hitendra Thakur and a Member of Parliament Baliram Jadhav at Vagoli village near Vasai on Sunday.

Heavy security has been deployed in the area. Twentytwo people have been arrested in connection with the attack.

"More arrest are expected soon," said Deputy Superintendent of Police, A. Chaughle.

The police said hundreds of villagers had gathered near a naka (crossroad) at Vagoli village on Sunday to garner support for a bandh against the proposed municipal corporation.
They had called a bandh on Monday against the inclusion of 53 villages in the corporation.

Tension mounted when around 9.30 pm, Thakur, accompanied by MP from Palghar, Jadhav, and some of their aides were returning home after watching a Gujrati film Radha Ki Badha.

Thakur, the younger brother of Dawood Ibrahim's aide Bhai Thakur, is leading the initiative of the formation of the proposed municipal corporation.

Villagers told Hindustan Times that Thakur's supporters, who appeared to be drunk, hurled abuses at them when they were trying to put up a banner for the bandh. This led to the clash between the villagers and Thakur's supporters.

"They were drunk and unnecessarily harassed our boys, who were marshalling in the area to gather support for Monday's bandh," said Vilas Vichare, one of the villagers present during the incident.

In a complaint lodged with the Nalasopara police, Umesh Naik, an aide of Thakur, alleged that a mob of over 200 villagers were waiting near Vagoli village to attack Thakur's convoy.

"The attack was preplanned by Thakur's rivals," Naik said.

The police said the villagers had first switched off the streetlights and blocked the road.

An aide of Thakur alleged that the villagers pelted stones at the convoy, injuring Thakur and his supporters.

The attackers then allegedly rang the bell of a nearby church, following which around 1,000 villagers joined the attackers and beat up Thakur and his supporters, another witness said.

Some local journalists and eight policemen were also injured.

Thakur and Jadhav, who had suffered head injuries, were admitted to Sanjivni hospital in Virar. They were discharged on Monday, the police said. Police sources said three companies of State Reserve Police Force were rushed to Vasai, which observed a complete bandh on Monday. The villagers had blocked the MumbaiAhmedabad highway in the morning.

Cops told to trace 72 ‘missing’ PakistanisA fortnight after security agencies alerted police on the possibility of a strike from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba operatives, Mumbai police have directed its 89 police stations to trace and detain 72 “missing” Pakistani nationals.

These Pakistani nationals, according to an alert issued by the Special Branch – the intelligence arm of the city police – to all police stations last week, have been missing over a period of five years.

Sources told Hindustan Times that senior police inspectors have been directed to “make all-out efforts to trace the Pakistanis.”

“Many of the local addresses provided by the missing Pakistani nationals as their destinations during their visit have been found to be fictitious,” a special branch officer said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Asked how police will trace these persons if the addresses given are not correct, KL Prasad, joint commissioner of police (law and order) said: “It will not be proper to discuss operational matters.”

Sources said most of the missing Pakistanis had entered the country through two of the four International Check Posts (ICPs) — Wagah and Attari. Mumbai and New Delhi are the other two ICPs for Pakistani nationals.

Many of the missing persons had arrived in the city on the pretext of visiting relatives.

B Raman, former additional secretary to the Cabinet secretariat, said, “This definitely poses a security threat. Intentions can never be determined.”

Every Pakistani national entering the country is allowed to stay at one particular place during his/her period of stay. On reaching Mumbai, the visitors have to register with the police’s Special Branch II and inform about their departure on the expiry of their visa, which is usually of six months’ duration. “These persons are those who had registered with us on arrival but never reported after that,” the officer said. “Unless we arrest and question them, we would not know what their intentions are.”