As more non-Congress chief ministers joined the protest against the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC),the UPA government said today that the fight against terror should not be politicised and asserted that the Centre has no desire to infringe on the rights of states. Upping the ante,the BJP said NCTC was anti-constitutional. Joining the anti-NCTC chorus,Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar,in a letter to PM Manmohan Singh,said the unilateral order must be withdrawn and urged him to initiate a process of consultation with states. Considering that public order and police is a state subject under the Constitution of India,this action of the MHA amounts to encroachment on the powers of the state, Sarkar wrote. Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khanduri also slammed the Centre,even as his party colleague and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi continued his attack. The central government is making a back-door attack on the constitutional powers of the states in a bid to acquire more powers. This has posed a major threat to the democratic and federal structure of our nation, said Modi. Their latest initiative is that without asking or discussing with any state government,overnight,they have tried to snatch the responsibility of law and order from the states. Apparently referring to Home Minister Chidambarams comment that security was a shared responsibility,he asked: If you accept the responsibility of state governments then is it not your (Centres) duty to consult them before forming laws? Meanwhile,Union Minister Ambika Soni said Chidambaram had already stated that the rights of states had not been violated. The fight against terrorism should be fought jointly and should not be politicised,she said.
