The conference of chief ministers in New Delhi failed on Saturday to reach a consensus on setting up a central law-enforcement agency on the lines of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani said discussions on the proposal would continue.
"Some chief ministers felt that it [the proposal] will diminish their [the states'] powers," he told reporters later.
This is the third successive year that some chief ministers, notably those belonging to opposition parties, have rejected the Centre's proposal for such an agency.
The conference also discussed illegal immigration and the proposed multi-purpose identity cards for citizens.
Advani said the problem of leftist extremism in certain states was worrisome. It was also felt that externally sponsored terrorism had to be dealt with by a special mechanism.
The Centre said the state governments should share equally with it the financial burden for modernisation of their police forces. But all the other participants felt the states should contribute only 25 per cent. So it was decided that the Centre would give 50 per cent of the fund as grant and 25 per cent as long-term loan.
On illegal immigration from Bangladesh, Advani said the Centre would no longer reconcile to it. "It's a determination to reverse the trend," he said, adding that Bangladeshi nationals were being detected and sent back from Delhi and surrounding areas since 2002.