NEW DELHI, May 16: A proposal to streamline the unwieldy and expensive security cover provided by the Special Protection Group to former prime ministers and their families is likely to run into difficulties because of the ``Sonia Gandhi factor''.

The proposal is slated for discussion at Monday's high-level meeting on SPG operations, convened by Prime Minister IK Gujral as a fallout of the Martin Massey assault case.

Although the proposal has been pending with the Government for more than two years, successive Prime Ministers have shied away from taking a decision on it to avoid upsetting the tenuous political balance between Sonia Gandhi as the high profile widow of Rajiv Gandhi on one side and living former PMs on the other.

The recommendations envisage grading SPG cover for ex-PMs and their families according to threat perception. The difficulty, however, is that it raises several delicate questions that no government has so far dared to address.

For instance, can a government downgrade security for say an ex-PM like Chandra Shekhar or Deve Gowda while retaining the high level cover provided to Sonia without inviting the wrath of a section of the political establishment? Alternatively, can a government run the risk of reducing Sonia's security in view of the two assassinations that have taken place in the family without sending Gandhi loyalists on the warpath?

Part of the problem arises from the general nature of the two amendments made to the SPG Act to accommodate the Gandhi family's security needs. Although both amendments were passed by the Narasimha Rao Government, in order to appear even-handed, they provided for blanket SPG security to ex-PMs and their families for a period of ten years.

As a result, the SPG today guards five former PMs and their families in addition to Sonia and her two children and of course, the current PM.

The strain is tremendous, revealed an SPG official. From a core group of 200 specially trained securitymen in 1985 when the Group was established, the SPG today has a manpower strength of over 3,000.

The extensive nature of its operations have forced a huge increase in cars, scanners and other paraphernalia required for such specialised protection, resulting in a mindboggling jump in budgetary allocation from some Rs 8 crores at the beginning to over Rs 75 crores today.

It has created piquant problems as well. For instance, when Gujral became PM, the SPG had to prepone its order for 12 new cars because it suddenly needed extra vehicles. In addition, it had to quickly redeploy its men, whittling down the officers posted at the residences of various ex-PMs to provide the necessary cover for Gujral.

All this has doubled the duty hours of the officers, putting them under considerable mental and physical strain, an SPG source complained.

At the same time, some SPG protectees are more equal than others. Sonia, for instance, the source revealed, has as many as six cars at her disposal which is one more than the PM himself. Her cars are also the best maintained and the newest of the vehicles provided for protectees other than the PM.

She also has the privilege of retaining the security officers of her choice, most of whom have been with her since 1991.

Rao too has managed special favours, demanding and getting an ambulance for his convoy - a facility which till now was reserved only for the PM.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.