Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Meet to discuss bank security

Thiruvananthapuram: Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said that he would convene a high-level meeting of banks, the Cooperative Department and the police to discuss issues related to their security in the wake of the Malappuram bank heist.

At a press conference here on Sunday, the Home Minister said that the Reserve Bank of India had clear norms regarding the security of banks. However, most of the banks, particularly cooperative banks, did not follow the rules. The meeting would work out a security arrangement for these institutions.

With regard to the federal police, he said all States were opposed to setting it up because it would impinge on the powers of the State. The federal police system would not work especially since different parties ruled the States and the Centre. The perceptions of terror and such activities would differ and this would only lead to further complications. He said that the State was not opposed to the federal police, provided the State had the powers to decide which cases should be referred to it.

Mr. Balakrishnan feigned ignorance about the existence of an Intelligence report that the United Democratic Front, the Bharatiya Janata Party and other outfits would foment trouble in Sabarimala during the Makaravilaku festival. The Minister was reluctant to get into a controversy over Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran’s statement that he had information to this effect.

“Such a report has not come to my notice. I just arrived this morning (Sunday) after attending party meetings and did not get enough time to peruse the files,” he said. The Minister sought to underplay his colleague’s remark by pointing out to the latent discontent over the distribution of ‘aravana’ and lack of facilities at the pilgrim centre.

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