Kerala CM comes under fire over 'excessive' security

| | Kochi
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Kerala CM comes under fire over 'excessive' security

Thursday, 31 May 2018 | VR Jayaraj | Kochi

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Politbureau member of the proletarian party, CPI(M), had grown up in an absolutely proletarian family background but he is now being charged with acting like a king, thanks to the allegedly excessive security arrangements provided by police for him during his visits to different parts of the State.

Even when his loyalists in the party and Government are working overtime to establish him as the most people-friendly Chief Minister the State has ever had, critics point out that he is acting like a king who is afraid of his own subjects by putting himself within a police wall and by keeping a “safe distance” from audiences while attending public functions.

The criticism has become all the more intense after over 400 policemen were allegedly deployed for ensuring security for him in Kottayam last Sunday which created a situation where the police reportedly had no time to look into a case of abduction of a Dalit Christian youth by a gang. The youth, Kevin P Joseph, was found dead on Monday morning in an incident of honour killing.

However, asked about the special police security for him, Pinarayi told newsmen on Wednesday, “I am not the person who decides such things. That is all done by the police. If a situation arises where some people block the Chief Minister on the road, you yourself may attack the police for not providing proper security.”

Critics point out that hundreds of police personnel are being deployed on security duty during Pinarayi’s visits apart from the usual cover available to him under Z-Category security provided for Chief Minister. Additional security is being provided on the basis of the observations and recommendations of the police chief of the district being visited by the Chief Minister.

During his visit to Kottayam on Sunday, four Deputy Superintendents of Police, many Circle Inspectors and Sub Inspectors and about 400 civil police officers had allegedly been deployed for his security which was supervised by the district police chief. However, officials justified this by saying that local security arrangements would depend on Intelligence reports.

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