State, does give prominent individuals, especially political leaders security cover
Perhaps it is the venality of the general run of politicians who also tend to hanker after the showy aspect of state-provided security, and often go to some lengths to acquire it, that intrinsically puts off men like Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal from the idea of asking the government for security.
But the truth is that the state, not being a complete ass, does give prominent individuals, especially political leaders security cover if it thinks this is warranted. This is regardless of their personal preferences. And so is the case with Mr Kejriwal, who can be exasperatingly precious about not being seen to be different from the aam aadmi, lest his credentials are called into question.
As chief minister, the AAP leader had made a big thing about the kind of government house he would agree to live in. And now he is doing the same with security. The government has said he enjoys Z-category security but he insists on believing this is not true since he has not asked for it.
Mr Kejriwal conveniently refuses to be persuaded that government security for certain types of public figures is not a matter of solicitation. Mr Kejriwal is certainly in that category, not least because he has taken on powerful forces. If the truth about government security so embarrasses him, other AAP leaders should help him out and point to its necessity. The cadres are bound to understand. They are usually less foolish than their leaders think.
