I can speak with some confidence about misuse of powers and authority by governments and agencies working under them, with my experience of having been Member-Secretary of the Committee with the legendary L. P. Singh as the Chairman and D. P. Kohli, the founder of the CBI and M. M. M. L. Hoojah, a world-renowned veteran in the field of intelligence, as Members, to process the recommendations of the Justice J. C. Shah Commission which had documented in gory detail the excesses committed by the Government and, at its behest, by the CBI and the IB, during the infamous Internal Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi.
The weirdest part of the episode was that a legitimate and necessary Constitutional provision for safeguarding the security of the nation was brazenly subverted to impose an oppressive dictatorial regime of total censorship, arbitrary detentions and false and fabricated cases against conscientious public servants. The IB and the CBI disgraced themselves by readily becoming the pliant tools of the Government and indulging in outrageous displays of sadism and cruelty.
In short, the Constitution itself was ingeniously used to negate the Constitution and destroy democracy.
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
Viewed in this background, the seven Chief Ministers who have protested against the nature and scope of functions entrusted to the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) are absolutely right in sounding the alarm. First of all, an organisation of such far-reaching impact should not come into being without its objectives and powers having been comprehensively discussed in a conference of the Chief Ministers. They have vital stakes in protecting their respective States and the country as a whole against terrorist attacks.
The Home Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, himself admitted that the responsibility for both external and internal security of the country is “shared by the Centre and State Governments.” If so, the Central Government ought to have taken the States also on board in formulating and implementing any security policy.
Actually, they are on the front line of terrorist attacks and neither the NCTC nor the Centre can do anything effective without enlisting the support of the entire machinery of State Governments in such situations. The proposal for the NCTC should have properly been brought before the Inter-State Council as well.
Unfortunately, the UPA Government learns nothing and unlearns nothing, but goes on practising its topsy-turvy approach to governance. It shows extreme delicacy of touch when it comes to dealing with crooks in the Government, treating their sensitivities and susceptibilities with great respect. But when it is a matter of great consequence to States, it blunders straight ahead, creating bitterness and hostility all around.
FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER
That apart, no civilised Government anywhere in the world ever even thinks of vesting a clandestine organisation like an intelligence agency with the powers of search, arrests and taking persons into custody. For instance, the NCTC, established in the US, has no such powers and by virtue of its functions, it can only “correlate, analyse, evaluate, integrate, and produce reports on terrorism information; and establish both within the NCTC, and between the NCTC and other security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies, information systems and architectures for the effective access to and integration, dissemination, and use of terrorism information from whatever sources derived.”
The chance of the IB becoming a Franskenstein monster is all the greater because the Bureau, under which the NCTC will function, has no specific and explicit charter providing for regulating its overt and covert operations and keeping its functioning under close review by means of a supervisory mechanism comprising eminent, independent, knowledgeable and experienced persons.
The L. P. Singh Committee had not only insisted on such a charter and mechanism but also given detailed blueprints concerning them. The Vice-President, Mr Hamid Ansari, in his R. N. Kao Memorial Lecture delivered at the headquarters of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) on January 19, 2010, also came out strongly in favour of such measures. I wrote to Mr Chidambaram on January 21, 2010 emphasising the need for acting on Mr Ansari's advice.
I have no ground for grouse about my letter being not even acknowledged since the Vice-President's call too has been instantly ignored!
NCTC is no light or trivial matter. The issues the CMs have raised deserve to be thrashed out thoroughly before it is launched.