RAJYA SABHA
The Rajya Sabha was
informed that prolonged deployment of the elite National Security
Guard was not desirable as this is a specialized force trained
and equipped for high risk counter hijacking and operations at
the time of terrorist attacks. The Minister of State for Home,
Shri Ch. Vidyasagar Rao told the House in a written reply that
it is because of this the NSG detachments had been withdrawn from
the hunt for the sandalwood smuggler Veerapan with the understanding
that the force would be provided as and when required. He said
assistance in the form of arms, ammunition and equipment and technical
intelligence support had been provided to the State Governments
involved in the hunt for Veerapan. The Minister said that the
services of a CRPF officer had also been placed at the disposal
of the Special Task Force of the Karnataka Government.
In reply to another
question on the subject Shri Rao said that the Government does
not contemplate any change in the role of the NSG or increase
its strength. He said there are over 1200 vacant posts in the
NSG as on July 1, 2002 and the Army, the Central Para-military
forces like the BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF have been advised to sponsor
suitable personnel to fill up the vacancies.
Intervening in the
discussion the Dy. Prime Minister and Home Minister, Shri L.K.
Advani said these vacancies are mainly because of the age limit
that a person should not be beyond 35 years. He said the Home
Ministry is considering age relaxation to an extent but at the
same time it will see that the Standard of Training and Performance
remains as high as it is today. He said at present there are no
women in the NSG but there is no bar on their appointment in the
elite force. Women in the force may be appointed as air marshals,
he added.
