Keep VVIP visit details secret, MHA to states
CLASSIFIED Advisories issued after PM’S tour details were leaked
NEWDELHI: The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has directed state governments to adhere to the Officials Secrets Act (OSA) to maintain secrecy of classified documents and VVIP programmes after minute-to-minute details of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi were found circulating on social media.
Advisories in this regard have been issued to all states twice this year, the latest being last month. Sources in MHA maintain that all precautions are being taken to avoid security breaches.
The trigger for the advisories was related to a visit made by the PM to Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur district in August last year. All the details of the visit issued by the Special Protection Group (SPG) were found circulating on Whatsapp before Modi arrived.
The PM had on August 9, 2016, visited the birthplace of freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad at Bhabra in Alirajpur district. The visit was held to commemorate sacrifices made by freedom fighters on Quit India day and launch the ‘Azadi 70 Saal — Yaad Karo Qurbani’ programme.
In January this year, chief secretaries and director generals of all states and UTS were made aware of the “leakage”. “During the Prime Minister’s visit to Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh, on August 9, 2016, the minute-to-minute programme of his visit issued by SPG was found circulating in the State on Whatsapp mobile application, breaching security instructions,” MHA’S letter on January 13 stated.
“Several instances of leakage of sensitive security documents of classified category circulating on social media have come to notice in the recent past. Such leakages of secret official documents of visit programme have serious security implications and can lead to any untoward incidents,” the advisory read. The ministry had also communicated that all officials must adhere to OSA to safeguard classified documents and take stringent corrective measures to maintain secrecy of VVIP programmes.
While the matter should have ideally been resolved following the January advisory, the leaks do not seem to have stopped. In another advisory to state authorities on September 13, the MHA stated “despite an advisory issued by the ministry , during the recent visit of the Prime Minister the minuteminute programme was found to be circulating in the social media”.
When asked to comment on the advisory, an MHA official said, “Such leakages are considered security breaches and all precautions are being taken by the ministry to avoid such instances.”