In apparent continuance of her opposition to the Centre’s anti-terror hub, chief minister Mamata Banerjee preferred to skip a programme helmed by Union home minister P Chidambaram, who praised her government for tackling the Maoist problem.
The home minister said the central government is happy to work with the states on security. “Internal security is a very complex issue. The security of the country is a shared responsibility. It is a responsibility that is shared by the central government and the state governments,” he said at the inauguration of the NSG hub here.
“Constitution assigns law and order issue to state government and mandates Centre to protect the country against external aggression or internal disturbances,’’ he said.
He offered olive branch to Mamata saying after the new government has taken over in Bengal, with perfect Centre-State coordination red extremism was tackled well.
He appreciated Mamata’s security administration, saying everyone would agree that Naxalite problem was “substantially controlled after new government came to power. Everyone will acknowledge and appreciate this,’’ he said, adding, things will only look up in future.
Though sources in Writers’ Buildings could not confirm if she was scheduled to attend the NSG hub function, Mukul Roy, a central minister and party leader attended the function.
However, observers feel that on the issue of National Counter Terrorism Centre, Chidambaram may not give in as he talked about shared responsibility on security.
Later, Mamata attacked the Centre alleging it has kept secret the fact about the two damaged sluice gates at the Farakka Barrage resulting in Bangladesh getting more than its share. “It seems that there is deliberate and highly irresponsible move to keep the matter a secret. It was only when the level of the Bhairathi river started falling that we realised something was amiss,” she said in a letter to the prime minister.
