Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has withdrawn the 16 Kerala Police personnel, two drivers and vehicles permanently stationed at Kerala House in New Delhi for the Chief Minister's security, in the latest of a series of decisions since taking office to trim the trappings of power associated with his predecessor, Pinarayi Vijayan, IANS reported from Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, November 4.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

The special deployment, introduced during Vijayan's tenure, has now been scrapped. Satheesan has made clear that he does not need a separate police team or additional vehicles during his Delhi visits. The personnel will return to Kerala and be assigned regular duties.

The rollback applies only to the additional permanent deployment: essential security through the existing official arrangements will continue during the Chief Minister's visits to the national capital.

Source: Nation Press

Soon after taking office, Satheesan cut down the nearly dozen-vehicle convoy used by Vijayan, a move that brought relief to motorists and residents who often had to wait for roads to be cleared. He also restored the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing, which had been discontinued during Vijayan's tenure, and has said he would perhaps be the only Chief Minister to travel by air without even a single assistant accompanying him.

Nation Press also reported that Satheesan has halted proposed repair and maintenance work at Cliff House, the official Chief Minister's residence in Thiruvananthapuram, which had been expected to involve substantial expenditure.

What happens next: the withdrawn personnel and drivers are to return to Kerala for regular duties, and the smaller Delhi arrangement will apply to the Chief Minister's future visits to the capital.