Govt has no plans to reduce security given to VIPs: Venkaiah Naidu

Venkaiah Naidu's remark has come a day after the cetral government banned the use of beacon lights atop vehicles to end VIP culture in India.

New Delhi, April 20: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said that the government has no plans to cut back on security to VIP's.

"With regard to security, it is necessary in the interest of the country because important people have to be protected. Otherwise, there is no preferential treatment," Naidu, who holds the portfolio of Information and Broadcasting, told reporters in Delhi.

About the Centre's decision to put an end to the VIP culture, he said: "Everybody is a VIP and that is the philosophy of our government." Though it is a small initiative but it sends a message that every person should be treated equally, he added. He hoped that state governments will also shun the use of beacons or they will face the wrath of the people.

On a query about the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, the Minister said the case has been going on for so many years and there is nothing new in that. He did not elaborate on what could be the impact of the Supreme Court order in the Babri Masjid demolition case on the BJP.

Top BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti will be tried for criminal conspiracy in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case as the apex court had allowed the CBI plea to restore the charge against them.

Meanwhile, amid a debate on some of the negative impacts of social media, Naidu said it cannot be censored. "It is a larger issue. We have to think about it and discuss because we cannot think of censoring social media. The society has to discuss and then come to a conclusion at the end of the day," he said.

PTI