NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to accord Central force’s security cover to former Calcutta High Court Judge and BJP leader Abhijit Gangopadhyay and ex- TMC MP Arjun Singh among four leaders of the BJP in the state to ensure their safety during this poll season, officials said on Wednesday.
According to the officials besides Gangopadhyay and Singh, BJP’s district-level leaders Abhijit Barman and Tapas Das are granted security protection by the personnel of Central Industrial Security Force’s (CISF) VIP security wing. Barman and Das have been given security under the ‘X’ category.
Gangopadhyay has been granted security under the ‘Y+’ category, while Arjun Singh has been given security under the ‘Z’ category and they will be protected by the commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
It is to be noted here that Gangopadhyay and Singh recently joined the BJP. Their shift to BJP underscores the significance of their security arrangements amidst the changing political landscape in the state, the officials said.
IT is learnt from the officials that Gangopadhyay and Singh were accorded the security cover by the MHA on March 27 - days after they joined the BJP- while Barman and Das were granted the facility on March 29.
Gangopadhyay joined the BJP days after he resigned as Calcutta High Court judge. The former judge made headlines last year, after an interview in which he discussed a case he was hearing.
Almost 20 months after he severed ties with the BJP to join the TMC, Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh returned to the BJP last month. The development at Barrackpore, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls of 2024, is similar to what had occurred ahead of the General Election in 2019.
In response to heightened safety concerns following intelligence inputs, the MHA granted security cover to the four BJP leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections beginning on April 19 in seven phases across India, the officials said.