Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said here on Sunday that ensuring gender equality in the Police Department would be a top priority for the government in the years to come and for the purpose, more women police officers would be appointed to key positions.
Opening the ‘Dilli Chalo’ meet-the-press programme series at the Press Club hall here, the Minister stated that the existing number of women civil police officers would be increased through PSC recruitment and six more women police stations, in addition to the existing three, would come up in the State to address the issues of women.
Mr. Chennithala explained that the jurisdiction of the new stations would be broader and it would cover the entire district. “Within five years, the ratio of women personnel in the department would reach 25 per cent,” he added.
Referring to a proposal of the Home Ministry to form a network of women across the State to support the Intelligence mechanism, the Minister said it was currently at the beginning stage and the mode of its operation would be decided later. “In the implementation phase, the project would mainly operate with the support of women attached to the Kudumbasree Mission,” he said.
According to Mr. Chennithala, the ‘Nirbhaya Keralam’ project, awaiting its formal launch in February, would incorporate a host of protective measures for the women in Kerala. He also said that the direction of the Congress leadership to consider more women candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections would be taken up seriously by the State leadership.
Maoist threatRegarding the already received reports on suspected Maoist presence in Kerala, the Minister said the issue was closely monitored by the State government and details could not be divulged. “We have received reports of their presence in four districts in Kerala, which will be examined in detail,” he said.
The Minister, however, denied commenting on the result of various government-level measures so far taken to address the concerns of communities following reports on the flash visit of Maoist elements to some of the tribal settlements and villages in Kerala. Asked about the efficacy of the State’s newly formed Thunder Bolt commando force and its drive to trace the Maoist elements, he said “It is not appropriate to go into a discussion on that.”
Total failureMr. Chennithala, who also heads the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, described the recent agitations taken up by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] in Kerala a “total failure” and claimed that the party was losing its ground among its supporters owing to internal feud.
Mr. Chennithala said he felt “sympathy” for CPI (M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. “Who will believe his argument that the Centre decided to increase the number of gas cylinders as a result of CPI (M) protest?” he asked.
The senior Congress leader also alleged that the CPI (M) was not willing to support the judicial inquiry commission for probing the solar scam.
