Non-Congress CMs unite against Centre on security issue

New Delhi, Apr 16: Chief Ministers of non-Congress states today accused the Centre of not consulting states on key security issues wherein the state's powers are "abrogated" while UPA ally Trinamool Congress opposed NCTC as it "upsets" the federal structure.

Speaking at the meeting of the Chief Ministers on internal security convened by the Union Home Ministry, Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat J Jayalalithaa and Narendra Modi opposed Centre's move to set up the National Centre for Counter Terrorism.

In her speech, Jayalalithaa hit out at the Centre for "encroaching on state powers" through the NCTC which was in "contravention" to constitutional provisions that accord priority status to police in the State list. "Lack of consultation with the states and failure to take the states into confidence is a cogent commentary on the system of governance in the Centre," she said.

Modi said Centre was adopting a "non-consultative" approach with state governments on key security issues. He said Centre was creating a "state within a state" by considering changes to RPF Act and BSF Act which take away powers from the state police and meddling with subjects under the state list.

On the matter of NCTC, Banerjee said, "it upsets the federal structure of the country. I have already written to you (Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) on the matter and will elaborate my views at length and in detail at the separate meeting being convened (on May 5)."

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said the issue of the establishment of NCTC requires a national consensus as "it must not adversely affect our federal structure".

PTI