THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday categorically stated that his government had no plans to open detention centres in the state and all reports to the contrary were baseless.
The Chief Minister said that the previous UPA government in 2012 had proposed detention centres in a communique issued to the states. These centres were meant for people entering the country in unauthorised manner, foreigners who continue to stay even after expiry of visa and passport period, those waiting for completion of legal processes for deportation after serving sentence in Indian jails.
The Centre had sought proposals from the states, and as a follow-up action the ministry of home affairs had convened a meeting on November 2015 which was attended by Kerala’s senior police officers. The meeting decided to establish a detention centre in Kerala at the earliest under the social justice department. He said that the government has decided not to go ahead with the proposal and all decisions and activities related to detention would be put on hold in the state.
The LDF government’s decision came in the wake of the huge controversy surrounding CAA and NRC. Social justice department officials said that there was plan to train staff to ensure that the detainees are treated with dignity.
