The anti-NCTC chorus grew louder today with the Bihar Chief Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, becoming the 13th leader from non-Congress-ruled States to oppose the anti-terror body even as the Odisha Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik, said he had no intention of politicising the campaign against terror.
Mr Kumar, who shot off a letter to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, demanded that Centre re-examine the whole issue and roll back the proposal to set up the National Counter-Terrorism Centre.
He said the decision was “unilateral and hasty” and would encroach upon the rights of the States.
The Odisha Chief Minister too wrote to the Prime Minister, saying he had no intention of politicising the campaign against terror as alleged by some Union Ministers. Mr Patnaik said his primary objection to NCTC was the “high-handed” manner in which the important issue was handled by the Centre.
“Let me assure you that I have no intention to politicise the campaign against terror as has been stated by some of your Ministers and senior officers to the media,” Mr Patnaik clarified.
Both Mr Kumar and Mr Patnaik asserted that they strongly opposed terrorism and extremism in any form and had always been with the Centre in the fight against the twin-scourge. However, Mr Kumar reminded the Centre that policing was a State subject and that the NCTC decision had created “a confusing situation and atmosphere.”
“We all are together in the fight against terrorism. The States have always cooperated with the Centre. What has then warranted setting up such centres?” he asked.
In his letter, Mr Kumar asked Dr Singh to re-examine the issue and ensure that the order was suitably modified to take care of the States' genuine concerns.
In Kolkata, the West Bengal Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee was non-committal on whether she would convey her opposition to NCTC during her meeting with the Prime Minister in Delhi on Wednesday.
“I have already given a letter to the Prime Minister that will speak for itself. Everything is mentioned in that letter,” she said without elaborating.
Besides Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal, the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have opposed creation of NCTC, which was scheduled to be operational on March 1.