The Home Ministry has issued a stringent set of guidelines for states to follow, in order to step up the security protocols for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Citing 'unknown threats' as the reason for the new guidelines, the Ministry said that the PM is the “most valuable target” in the run-up to the 2019 elections and that the threat is at an “all-time high”.

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As and when the new restrictions come into place even ministers and officers will not be allowed to meet or greet PM Modi without clearance from the Special Protection Group (SPG).  The SPG is also of the view that PM Modi should cut down on his road shows which are unpredictable and cannot be micro-managed. Instead, he is being advised to address public rallies, which are comparatively easy to handle.

The Prime Minister's security was assessed recently after intel inputs indicated that he might be targeted, leading up to the 2019 general elections. 

On June 7, the Pune Police had informed a court that a letter seized from one of the five people arrested for having 'links' with the banned CPI(Maoist), indicated a plan to assassinate the PM in a Rajiv Gandhi-type incident.

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The security assessment was put in place by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who held a meeting with NSA Ajit Doval, IB Director Rajiv Jain and Union Home Secretary Rajib Gauba on intel inputs, suggesting a threat to the Prime Minister. 

Recently, a man also breached six-tier security to touch the PMs feet during his visit to West Bengal which alarmed the security team of an impending disaster if strict security measures were not taken.

Apart from the general guidelines for ministers and officers, the police chiefs of states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal were asked to be extra careful in their security arrangement as these states have a high Maoist presence.

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While the opposition still believes that these reports and assessments are a ploy to distract the country from burning issues such as rising petrol prices, atrocities on Dalits and lynchings on the fake cow-slaughter news, the government will do well to avoid any untoward incident especially so close to the general elections.