Home ministry debates toning down order on creating NCTC

With the opposition to the National Counter Terrorism Centre's powers to search and arrest echoing in Parliament, the home ministry has started internal discussions to consider toning down its controversial order creating the anti-terror superstructure and provide for greater involvement of the states.

With the opposition to the National Counter Terrorism Centre's powers to search and arrest echoing in Parliament, the home ministry has started internal discussions to consider toning down its controversial order creating the anti-terror superstructure and provide for greater involvement of the states.

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The home ministry discussions come a day after the meeting with police chiefs and chief secretaries where the state representatives — irrespective of the political party in power — expressed reservations at the NCTC's powers to independently carry out operations.

In Parliament, the Opposition and key UPA ally, the Trinamool Congress, kept up the pressure on the government to amend its controversial order.

Kalyan Banerjee of the Trinamool moved an amendment to the President's address raising an “objection” to a paragraph that refers to the NCTC. “We are completely against this NCTC. Our CM is against his. In the meeting of the officials also, the state government has said this and in the House also,” Banerjee said.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj complained about reported remarks of home secretary RK Singh at the police chiefs meeting, asking state officials not to act as stenographers for their chief ministers and referred to opposition of 10 states to NCTC's powers that encroach upon the rights of the states.

The home minister also said Singh had denied asking the state civil servants not to behave as stenographers of their chief ministers. “I am clear that NCTC is an absolute necessity... Those who oppose certain aspects of it also agree on the idea,” Chidambaram said.