Stepping up pressure on the government, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday evening to put the controversial setting up of the National Counter Terrorism Centre on hold till a “consensus is evolved”.
Dr Singh, however, merely assured her that he would ask home minister P. Chidambaram to address the concerns of various state governments. At their 15-minute meeting, Ms Banerjee also discussed issues like “Gorkhaland” and the Farakka Barrage.
Speaking to reporters outside the PM’s residence, Ms Banerjee said: “I told the Prime Minister that till a consensus is arrived at, the NCTC’s notification should not be implemented.” She said Dr Singh told her the NCTC was envisaged way back in 2001. “I asked him — what was the need to force the setting up of the NCTC after 11 years?”
Ms Banerjee clarified that she was not against fighting terrorism. “We are fighting a battle against terror. But if the states and the Centre do it together, there will not be any confusion.”
With the NCTC turning into a major political crisis for his government, the Prime Minister wrote to seven chief ministers on Tuesday assuring them the Centre had no intention of usurping the states’ powers.