CISF personnel to be posted in Parl on permanent basis

NEW DELHI: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which has taken over the security of the Parliament complex, will have its personnel posted permanently, with officials aware of the matter saying this will be on the lines of the earlier watch and ward staff, who were posted in the complex for years and had become known faces.

- Prawesh Lama

This security apparatus will be different from the one adopted by CISF at airport and metro stations, where the duty roster changes every day. The move, the officials said, will ensure CISF personnel on duty at different areas within the Parliament complex become known faces to the lawmakers, and avoid controversies such as the one witnessed recently in the House.

Last week, during the ongoing monsoon session, the government and opposition locked horns over the presence of CISF in the Parliament complex. Congress president and leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge complained to deputy chairman Harivansh about the presence of CISF personnel inside the house. The government, however, said that the new marshals (unarmed) of CISF were under the Parliament security and functioned under the same rules.