P. Chidambaram attacks Narendra Modi,says CMs’ opposition to NCTC will cost country
'I deeply regret that a couple of CM's opposed NCTC even after it has been modified.'
With another attempt by the Centre to build a consensus on creating the National Counter-Terrorism Centre getting stonewalled,Finance Minister P Chidambaram hit out against Narendra Modi Wednesday,saying the Gujarat chief minister’s idea of fighting terror probably meant bringing back controversial anti-terror laws such as POTA and TADA.
Chidambaram,who was a surprise invitee at the meeting of chief ministers on internal security,warned that the country would have to “pay a price” for its inability to have an effective counter-terrorism organisation in place.
“I deeply regret that a couple of chief ministers opposed the NCTC even after it has been modified. If even this NCTC is to be opposed,I am afraid,the country will pay the price from time to time,” Chidambaram,who had conceived the idea of a NCTC when he was home minister,said after the morning session of the internal security conference.
Earlier in the day,Modi had called NCTC a “poorly conceived” idea that could cause “irreparable harm” to the country’s internal security apparatus. He wanted the government to enact a dedicated law against terrorism. “The union government is quick enough to recognise the need for a dedicated law for tackling the menace of match-fixing in sports,but the same government fails to see the need for a dedicated law against terrorism,” Modi said.
Chidambaram said by seeking another anti-terror law,Modi was in fact batting for the return of POTA and TADA,two anti-terror laws that were repealed by the UPA government.
“He wants to bring back TADA and POTA. Why doesn’t he say so? The Gujarat chief minister must candidly say I want POTA back and the Congress party would candidly say that we are opposed to POTA,” Chidambaram said.
The former home minister said the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA),after being amended in December 2008 in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack,contained a legal framework for fighting terror activities.
“What we now need are instruments to implement the Act. One instrument is the MAC (Multi-Agency Centre for sharing intelligence). NIA (National Investigation Agency) was the second instrument. And the third,and most important,is the NCTC. What we need today is a strong NCTC,” he said.
But chief ministers from opposition parties stuck to their guns in opposing the NCTC even after a considerable dilution in its original provisions. Besides Modi,West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa also reiterated their strong objections. The two did not attend the meeting but sent their speeches castigating the Centre for persisting with its attempt to create the NCTC.
“I fail to understand why the Centre persists in dealing with such a sensitive matter in such an insidious fashion,treating the state governments as though they are adversaries to be suspected rather than as partners,and continues trying to establish the NCTC by stealth,” Jayalalithaa said in her speech.
BJP chief ministers Raman Singh and Shivraj Singh Chouhan,and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also expressed reservations,saying even the modified NCTC was not acceptable to them. Raman Singh suggested the government should take Parliament’s consent for creating such a body.
Modi said the proposed NCTC was not in congruence with the principles of federalism,and suggested that instead of creating a new organisation,the Centre should try to strengthen the MAC for intelligence sharing and analysis. “Multiplicity of agencies will only create more confusions and ineffectiveness at the field level,” he said.
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