Scrap NSA or bring key post under Parliament: Brajesh Mishra

India's first national security advisor (NSA) Brajesh Mishra today suggested abolition of the key post he held for nearly six years contending that the person holding it was not accountable to Parliament.

"In a Parliamentary democracy, a powerful person like the NSA has no accountability to Parliament," Mishra, who was NSA to prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee between 1998 and 2004, told PTI here.

Mishra said even during his tenure he was in favour of bringing the NSA and the National Security Council system under a separate ministry for National Security which would be accountable to Parliament.

"The appointment of NSA was a political decision. It was in the BJP manifesto and was implemented when the NDA came to power," Mishra said about his appointment to the post.

Mishra said during his tenure he had put the post under the principal secretary so that the authority of the prime minister in all matters related to the country's nuclear programme remained supreme.

He said the political systems in countries like the US and Russia had provisions where the respective presidents can have a set of advisors.

The former NSA's remarks come at a time when the government is planning a complete overhaul of the security apparatus, including recasting the role of the NSA.