WITH the Centre's plan to set up an overarching anti-terror body now earning her ire,West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today mounted pressure by skipping the inauguration of an NSG hub near Kolkata,where Union Home Minister P Chidambaram was present. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai,who had come to meet her to resolve the Teesta imbroglio,also went back with a whole new list of "reservations" expressed by the Chief Minister over the enclave exchange protocol signed between India and Bangladesh. Mamata indicated a hardening of stance - ahead of the crucial Budget Session of Parliament - even as Chidambaram as well as the Congress made conciliatory noises over the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC). Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda today joined the list of non-Congress chief ministers,including Mamata,opposing the single-point centre for anti-terror measures. Inaugurating the NSG hub in Badu,about 50 km from Kolkata,Chidambaram said while the Constitution assigns law and order to states,it authorises the Centre to protect the country against external aggression and internal disturbance. "I have a responsibility to work with the states to quell terror,any militancy or rebellion," he said. The Home Minister said the founding fathers of the Constitution were wise for including Article 355. "That is why they made national security,internal security a shared responsibility." In Delhi,Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the apprehensions about "infringement" of state rights would be taken into account. "If so many chief ministers have expressed their concerns,the Central government will talk to them,will certainly try to resolve the same." Chidambaram himself did not refer to the opposition to the NCTC. The Centre,he said,did not discriminate between states on the basis of political parties that rule there and complimented the West Bengal government for its steps "to considerably improve" the Naxalite situation. "We work with different political parties in troubled states like Orissa,Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh and West Bengal," Chidambaram said. "Our approach to terrorism,Naxalism and insurgency is the same irrespective of the government ruling the states." On the matter of Bangladesh,the enclave exchange may now run into trouble with Mamata along with the Teesta deal. While agreeing to put off the signing of the Teesta treaty in September following Mamata's objections,Dhaka had asked New Delhi to ensure that the agreement was examined after some time. The Teesta agreement is holding up a number of other river deals. According to senior West Bengal officers,Mamata feels that on the enclave exchange,the state would lose quite a bit of territory to Bangladesh and this would hurt its interests. While she has been briefed by Ministry of External Affairs officials at least twice,the Chief Minister reportedly wants a relook at the "finer points". Currently,all work on the exchange of enclaves is on hold,with anger among residents growing. On Teesta,Mamata wants a sharing formula that fully protects the interests of Indian farmers. The Congress played down the new tension brewing between Mamata and the Centre. "The Central government and state governments can have different perceptions. If a chief minister of any state even from the UPA writes a letter to the Prime Minister or expresses his or her views. it is not wrong and this should not be given political colour," Tewari said.
