Professional experts aver that the most effective security is that which is the least visible or obtrusive. Proof of that came some years back when an attack on the then Indian Ambassador in Romania, Julio Ribeiro, was foiled in Bucharest ~ the “supercop” confessed that he did not know he had been provided protection until his assailants were overpowered and apprehended.

Without in any way undermining the most recent threat perceptions to the Prime Minister, it is valid to contrast the home ministry’s highlighting those perceptions in a media blitz with the Romanian experience. And the query that arises is if North Block’s security apparatus is as amateurish as it appears to be, or is there more to the story? The security of the nation’s chief executive is not a matter for amateurs, nor should it be handled in a manner that provokes speculation.

One Prime Minister and a former Prime Minister have been assassinated, VIP security is no laughing matter. It would be a grave dereliction of duty if an inquiry was ducked into how those garrulous “official sources” in the home ministry wagged their tongues ~ even if the intended objective was to project Mr Narendra Modi as being under grave threat. Nabbing potential troublemakers would have made greater sense.

It is ridiculous that reports in several newspapers, as well as one circulated by a national news agency, should mention “fresh guidelines” having been issued ~ they immediately lost their freshness ~ and referred to an “all time high” threat to the Prime Minister, whom a “senior MHA official” informed the ignorant people was the “most valuable target”.

Details of the new guidelines were also circulated ~ road-shows were not recommended, ministers and officials would not be permitted near Mr Modi unless “cleared” by the Special Protection Group, and just in case those potential assailants were unaware that it existed, the official also mentioned that the Prime Minister’s Close Protection Team (CPT) had been authorised to frisk even ministers.

Though the official spoke of an “unknown threat” he proceeded to refer to an e-mail communication tracked in Pune some three weeks earlier, and added that under observation were the activities of a Kerala-based radical left-wing outfit that is known as the Popular Front of India (no jihadi militant group has been suspected).

If indeed so much information was available with the ministry, would a crackdown not have been more advisable and productive than a media session? Cynics would contend that North Block “gave the game away” by its suggestion that the threats to Mr Modi have been enhanced by linking them with the countdown to the 2019 election having got underway.

In recent days, when recalling the Emergency of 1975-77, top BJP leaders have flayed the personality-oriented politics of the time (a la Indira is India), but by articulating threat perceptions regarding the Prime Minister are we not heading down the same path? The PM’s security is far too serious a matter to be trifled with.