Defence ministry to take up frisking issue

New Delhi: Amid all the hullabaloo over the Army, Navy and IAF chiefs being subjected to security checks at airports , even while people like Robert Vadra are exempted from it, defence minister A K Antony has quietly asked his ministry officials to take up the case of the top military brass with the civil aviation ministry once again. And this time, do it in a forceful manner.
Top defence ministry officials told TOI on Saturday that "a strong case" for the exemption of the Service chiefs from security checks and frisking at airports was in the works and it would be presented to the civil aviation ministry "soon". "We are confident we will get a positive response this time. It is being taken up in a serious manner," said an official.
All this comes after TOI highlighted the progressive downgrading of the armed forces by the political and bureaucratic establishments, in the light of Antony's statement in Parliament on Wednesday that the civil aviation ministry had shot down his ministry's proposal to exempt the Service chiefs from pre-embarkation checks at airports in line with the courtesy granted to a host of other VIPs.
25/11/07 Rajat Pandit/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Nov 2007, Safety Nov 2007