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NCTC row: Advani hopes Centre will respect Constitution's federal structure | | A day after the Centre failed to break the logjam over the anti-terror body National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), with non-Congress chief ministers stoutly opposing and
some of them even demanding its withdrawal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran
Lal Krishna Advani on Sunday expressed hope that the UPA Government will respect
the federal structure, as it is an essential part of the Indian Constitution.
"I do expect that the manner in which all the chief ministers, who visited New
Delhi yesterday including Dr. Raman Singh (Chattisgarh Chief Minister), have told
the Central Government forcefully that the federal structure is an essential part
of the Indian Constitution. And if the Centre tries to weaken it by any means,
if the Centre tries to increase its right by suppressing our rights, then the
states will not accept it," Advani told mediapersons here on the sidelines of
the launch of the Raipur edition of English daily 'The Pioneer'. "I expect that
the Indian Government will respect the federal structure following the viewpoints
put forward by chief ministers during the discussions that took place yesterday,"
he added. On Saturday, the state governments and the Centre differed on the powers
to be allocated to the new anti-terror body. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh
and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram met with the state chief ministers in Delhi
to arrive at a consensus on the NCTC issue. Non-Congress ruled states alleged
that the NCTC violates the federal structure and demanded drastic changes in the
proposed law. The main task of the NCTC would be to ensure that a wide variety
of security organizations in the country work in tandem, at least on issues related
to terrorism. It will also have the power to seek information, including documents,
reports, transcripts, and cyber information from any agency, including from the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Investigation Agency, National
Technical Research Organization, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and all seven
central armed police forces including the National Security Guard (NSG). The body,
which will function under the Intelligence Bureau, would be given its own operational
wing with powers to arrest and conduct searches under Section 43A of the Unlawful
Activities Prevention Act.
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