Narendra Modi opposes NCTC, says states not consulted

Accusing the Centre of double speak, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said though the UPA government claimed that security was a "shared" responsibility of the Centre and states, it did not bother to consult states when it came to forming laws.

"If you accept the responsibility of state governments then is it not your (Centre's) duty to consult them before forming laws?" he said opposing the Centre's plan to set up a National Counter Terrorism Centre.

Modi was reacting to Home Minister Chidambaram's comment that security was a shared responsibility of Centre and the states.

"In the past few years, the UPA government in Delhi is damaging the federal structure of India and because of this the country may have to face dangerous situations," he said.

"Their (Centre) latest initiative is that without asking or discussing with any state government, overnight, they have tried to snatch away the responsibility of law and order from the states," Modi said.

Modi said if the central government felt that there idea was the correct one, they could have had an open debate.

"If they thought their idea is right, they could have kept it in national domain and debated it. They could have brought it as an agenda in Security Council and discussed it," he said.

The Gujarat Chief Minister claimed without attempting an open debate the Centre had tried to form the law through the back door.

"All these backdoor activities which are being done...it is not only one act but there are many other thought out actions, which are an attack on the country's federal structure," Modi said.

Modi said other chief ministers have also expressed anger on the NCTC issue and demanded that the recommendations of the Sarkaria commission, which was set up to examine the relationship and balance of power between states and Centre, be implemented.

"All the chief ministers have expressed anger that the country cannot be run in this manner. The Centre should convene a meeting of all the CMs and we demand that the findings of the Sarkaria Commission be implemented," he said.

The government had decided to make operational from March 1 the counter-terrorism body designed to coordinate operations against terror groups. The NCTC has powers to arrest and carry out searches, and will have a separate wing for operations.

However, various states, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha, have taken up the cudgels against the move.

Modi claimed the Centre was not sensitive to states' concerns on security, which he said reflected in it not allowing the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Act (GUJCOCA).

"The Gujarat Assemble has passed GUJCOCA five times. We are a state that has to protect both our coastal and land borders. The world knows what kind of neighbours we have but the Centre has repeatedly rejected the legislation," the chief minister said.