Tripura, U'khand CMs join anti-NCTC chorus

Chief ministers of Tripura and Uttarakhand on Sunday joined the anti- National Counterterrorism Center chorus taking to 12 the number of opposing states even as their Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi accused United Progressive Alliance of "attacking" the country's federal structure.

With the Centre being accused of taking an "unilateral" decision, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said the campaign against terror should be fought jointly and not be politicised. The Centre had no desire to infringe on the states' rights, she said.

Left Front-ruled Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the proposal to set up the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), saying the "unilateral" order would only create "misunderstanding".

Sarkar requested Singh that the NCTC order issued by the home ministry be withdrawn and a process of wider consultations initiated.

He said it was "unfortunate and surprising" that the NCTC order which dealt with security, an issue closely related to states, had been issued without proper consultations.

"Considering that 'Public order' and 'Police' is a state subject under the Constitution of India, this action of the MHA amounts to encroachment on the powers of the state."

The Tripura chief minister said the need of the hour was for the states and the Centre to cooperate but the NCTC order would only create misunderstanding.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khanduri accused the Centre of "infringing" on federal rights of the states.

"Be it NCTC or any other issue, it is very sad that some of the important decisions are being taken by the Centre unilaterally," he said in Dehra Dun.

Stepping up his offensive on the NCTC issue, Modi said though the UPA government claimed that security was a "shared" responsibility of the Centre and states, it did not bother to consult states when it came to forming laws.