Kerala tightens norms for booking room in MLAS' hostel

Following an all-party meeting held here Wednesday, Kerala assembly Speaker G. Karthikeyan has announced very strict norms for entry of visitors to the MLAs' hostel which will also be applicable to ex-legislators.

"You all know the reason why we had an all-party meeting today and it has now been agreed that rooms will be allotted to ex-legislators only if he/she comes in person and signs the register. Not more than 10 days in a month would the room be available and in one stretch, the maximum number of the days that (room) would be given (for) is five," Karthikeyan told reporters here.

The sudden action taken by the speaker comes after reports from the state police that an accused in a blackmailing case was tracked down to the MLA hostel. He stayed put there for a few days in a room that was booked by former Congress legislator T. Saratchandra Prasad.

"The accused was tracked by the police using mobile tower location and he was arrested after he drove out of the hostel campus. The police had sought the permission of the legislature secretary to keep a tab on the accused from outside. The police never entered the MLA hostel," added Karthikeyan.

Located in the heart of the city, the MLA hostel allows former legislators to hire a room for Rs.10 per day.

The recent episode is not the first when this facility has been misused and used as a hideout for those facing arrest.

Following the tightening of security in the MLA hostel campus, no outside vehicles would be allowed to be parked inside and the campus will now be under CCTV surveillance.

--IndoAsian News Service

sg/vip/vt