CISF, Parliament security service to provide security cover at oath-taking

Personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Parliamentary Security Service (PSS) are jointly coordinating the security measures for the oath-taking ceremony for new parliamentarians likely to be held at the end of the month, people familiar with the matter said. PSS, which is the in-house security of Parliament building, has not been removed from security duty and will assist CISF personnel at each gate, they added, asking not to be named.

In December last year, on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on December 13, two men walked through three layers of security with smoke canisters concealed in their shoes, vaulted into the Lok Sabha from the visitors’ gallery, and sprayed smoke inside the chamber during Zero Hour. The home ministry ordered a security review, and on the basis of this review, CISF was asked to secure Parliament House.

But PSS will still have a critical role, a senior Lok Sabha official said. The tasks performed by the Delhi Police and other paramilitary agencies have been taken over by CISF, which has introduced an airport-style security checking at the complex, this person explained. “But Parliament is not an airport or an industrial establishment. there are certain formalities in Parliament that are strictly followed as it is a place for the lawmakers and high-profile political leaders. Thus, the role of the PSS is important. As they have been trained in a certain way.”

In the run-up, the two agencies will be conducting mock runs of function related security measures, officials said.

“Unarmed CISF personnel will be present at the gates along with PSS staff at the gate leading to the hall where the parliamentarians of the 18th Lok Sabha will be taking oath. Inside the hall, both units (all unarmed) will be present. PSS personnel know the protocol and the identity of the leaders so they are better equipped to assist the CISF,” said another officer.

Inside Parliament complex, there is a ban on carrying arms and ammunition.

There will be a second tier of CISF personnel (armed personnel), who will be outside the hall and in other areas of the Parliament complex.

The CISF personnel at the main gate of the Parliament, who man the X-Ray baggage scanners and door metal frame detectors, will also be checking the shoes. Visitors (not parliamentarians) will be asked to remove their shoes, a departure from the past. Earlier Delhi Police personnel were involved at this security point but they did not check the shoes of visitors – a loophole that was exploited by the people involved in the security breach last year.