CM wants Centre to convene meet on NCTC

Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who has opposed the Centre’s move to set up the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), has urged the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram to convene the National Security Council meeting at the earliest to discuss the issue.

In a letter dated February 21, Gowda has asked Chidambaram to immediately postpone the scheduled launch of NCTC on March 1, pending consultation with the State governments.

The unilateral decision of the Centre to constitute NCTC infringes upon the powers of the State governments as laid down in the Constitution.

“The police, law and order are the subject matters within the jurisdiction of the State governments. In spite of it, the proposed NCTC with powers to make arrests, carry out searches and seizures and ask for information from any agency would amount to violation of the basic rights of the states,” the Chief Minister stated.

The Centre should have properly discussed NCTC, before taking a final decision.
“I hereby oppose any such unilateral launch of NCTC. I am in agreement with the chief ministers of different states who have opposed the NCTC,” he added.