Won’t push NCTC if states oppose it: Govt

Jul 11, 2013 |

Age Correspondent

Even as terrorist groups are striking with impunity, the Union home ministry is under pressure to permanently shelve its ambitious NCTC project which was aimed at creating a first of its kind counter-terror agency with the exclusive mandate of preventing and countering terrorist attacks.

Addressing a press conference days after the serial blasts in Bodh Gaya in Bihar, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday said he tried his best to get the consent of the chief ministers to set up the controversial National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) like his predecessor P. Chidambaram did but failed.
“The NCTC had a specific role to counter terrorist activities... But if they (states) don’t want it, so be it,” he said on Wednesday.
Putting the onus directly on the non-Congress ruled states which have opposed the NCTC proposal, Mr Shinde said, “I believe we should remain within our limits. We should not press too much. We do not want to hurt the federal rights of states If they (CMs) do not want, let it be. We should not go ahead without the chief ministers’ consent,” he said.
Explaining that he tried his best to make NCTC a reality, the home minister further added: “I have tried a lot. have removed all operational powers (of NCTC) and thought that there would not be any opposition to it now. But still some chief ministers continue to oppose it.”
When asked whether his comments meant that the NCTC was over for good, Mr Shinde said that he cannot say that but right now there is no movement on it due to the strong opposition of some of the chief ministers.
Those who are opposing a watered-down proposal for NCTC include chief ministers Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Jayalalithaa (Tamil Nadu), Narendra Modi (Gujarat), Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh) and Punjab deputy-chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Even Congress chief ministers Prithviraj Chavan (Maharashtra), Siddaramaiah (Karnataka) and Tarun Gogoi (Assam) have expressed reservations to the proposal.

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