KANNUR: Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala has called upon the State Government to establish human rights courts as envisaged in the Human Rights Act, 1984 to check growing cases of human rights violations and custodial deaths in the State.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Chennithala said that human rights violations had become extensive in police stations after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government came to power. The Congress would launch a mass agitation against lock-up tortures and custodial deaths in the State. The Government's failure to reconstitute the State Human Rights Commission amounted to giving licence to such human rights violations. The Government and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had chosen to see these incidents lightly.

The KPCC president said the Supreme Court's directions on the norms to be followed for the arrest of a person were being violated in the State. Urging the Government to give clear instructions to the police on pre-arrest and post-arrest procedures to be followed, he said the Government had a responsibility to ensure that a citizen's right to life and dignity was not violated.

He reiterated the demand of the Congress for a judicial probe into the incidents of custodial deaths in the State. The KPCC chief also demanded that the Government sanction compensation to the families of those died in police lockup and custody.

Farmers' plight

Acknowledging that it was still too early to evaluate the LDF Government, Mr. Chennithala said the people were disillusioned by the performance of the Government. Incidents of suicide by farmers were on the increase now, he said adding the Government was responsible for the plight of the farmers. He said that restricting financial assistance to the families of farmers who had committed suicide would be a motivation for farmers to end their lives. The KPCC president urged the Government to effectively intervene to check price rise ahead of the Onam season. To a question, he said the Congress was happy that the LDF Government had accepted the Smart City project. The party would react after the details of the final agreement between the Government and Dubai Internet City came out.

Mr. Chennithala said Education Minister M.A. Baby was responsible for complicating the issue of admission of students to professional colleges. The Government should have convened an all-party meeting to discuss the issue, he said.

To another question, Mr. Chennithala said that the Congress welcomed the decision to ban Coca-Cola and Pepsi. He, however, said that a comprehensive Central legislation alone could check pesticide residue in food items.

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