NEW DELHI: Chief Ministers of Tripura and Uttarakhand on Sunday joined the anti-National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) chorus, taking to 12 the number of opposing states even as Gujarat CM Narendra Modi accused the UPA government of “attacking” the country’s federal structure.
However, the UPA asserted that the fight against terror “must be fought jointly by states and the Centre”, and that “NCTC was only one step in this direction”. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said she believed that the fight against terrorism had to be fought jointly, and that the “Centre had no desire to infringe on the states’ rights”. “We have time and again said that terror should not be politicised,” she said.
She added that Home Minister P Chidambaram had already said that no step had been taken that violated states’ rights. “The Home Minister has reiterated for the last two days that no such step has been taken by tje Centre that violates the rights of the states,” she said.
This, however, cut no ice with Opposition-ruled states, with Modi again questioning the rationale of the move. Accusing the Centre of “doublespeak”, he said “though the UPA... 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. “In the past few years, the UPA... is damaging the federal structure of India and because of this the country may have to face dangerous situations,” he said.
Stating that many states have already expressed displeasure over NCTC order, he demanded a meet of Chief Ministers to have national-level discussion on the recommendations of Sarkaria Commission.