PM's reply may address TMC concerns on NCTC today

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address at 12 noon on today.

Government sources said the PM’s reply will address concerns of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on the formation of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).

Though a TMC amendment to President Pratibha Patil's address to the joint session of Parliament seeking deletion of the reference to the controversial matter was rejected in the Lok Sabha, the concerns expressed by party chief Mamata Banerjee would be suitably reflected in the PM’s reply to the three-day debate, sources said.

The same has already been conveyed to Trinamool leader Sudip Bandopadhyay, sources stated, adding the party will not embarrass the government in Parliament on the issue.

The West Bengal Chief Minister had opposed the proposal for setting up of the NCTC, an issue over which the Trinamool Congress has made common cause with the Opposition and some non-Congress chief ministers, saying the states' rights were being encroached upon.

The TMC move to amend the President's address, which was rejected on technical grounds, could have embarrassed the government in Parliament.

Around 2,700 amendments to the President's Address have been submitted in both Houses in a bid to corner the government on issues like NCTC, federalism and corruption.

Meanwhile, another key UPA ally, the DMK too has given hints that it will not put the government on backfoot in Parliament on the issue of Sri Lankan war crimes.

The DMK has been pressing the government to make its stand clear on the resolution to be adopted on Sri Lankan war crimes issue at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Pranab warns allies against amendments to President's speech

A dinner for UPA allies at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's home on Tuesday ended with a serious message for Mamata Banerjee, who skipped the meeting and sent instead not one of the Trinamool Congress ministers in the UPA government, but MP Ratna De Nag.

Ms Nag arrived at the dinner late, to be handed a type-written, unsigned note for Mamata Banerjee that reportedly said that an amendment her party has sought in Parliament is embarrassing for the government she partners. The note reportedly stops short of saying that the amendment - seeking the deletion of a reference to the new National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) from the President's speech to Parliament yesterday - be withdrawn.

But at the dinner meeting, sources said, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made clear that if the Trinamool persisted with the amendment and there was a vote on it, the UPA government could fall. When Ms Nag said that her party did not intend to destabilise the government, Mr Mukherjee reportedly pointed out that though the UPA's allies might not willfully want the government in trouble, such moves would only have the Opposition taking advantage of the situation.

That is already happening. The BJP too has reportedly sought an amendment similar to the Trinamool's on the mention of the NCTC in the President's speech, and the main opposition party wants a vote on that amendment. In case of a vote, the TMC would find it difficult to support the government - party chief Ms Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, has been the Group Captain for 10 chief ministers who have objected to the NCTC on the grounds that its powers encroach upon those of state governments. The Centre has delayed the commissioning of the NCTC till an extensive dialogue is completed with states.

After the dinner meeting, Home Minister P Chidambaram said it had been impressed upon all allies that members of their party must be present in Parliament to vote with the government and help it push through important legislation in the Budget Session that began on Monday. It was also decided that all UPA allies would meet every day in Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal's room for better floor coordination in Parliament. Partners like the TMC and the DMK have repeatedly accused the Congress-led government of not consulting them on key policy decisions and blamed it for poor coordination.

The DMK too put the government in a spot on Tuesday by moving amendments seeking that the President's address reflect India's stand on alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan government. A resolution backed by the US against reported atrocities will come up within the next few days at the United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva. The DMK has said India must vote against Sri Lanka. The party also wants the President's address to refer to the repeated arrests by Sri Lanka of fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

Tuesday's dinner is being seen as the government's effort to rebuild bridges amid reports that the coalition is on shaky ground. Mamata Banerjee's open snub in sending a relatively junior representative to the important dinner adds to the speculation that the coalition is very fragile. The TMC has since tried to play down Mamata's cold shoulder, with Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien tweeting, "Dr Ratna Nag who attended PM dinner is our Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha. She is a lady & in our party we respect all. She's a key member of TMC."

Ms Banerjee has also denied interest in exiting the government or in exploring political options, but her actions have suggested otherwise.  While Ms Banerjee chose not to send a minister to the PM's dinner, she is sending close aide and Union Minister Mukul Roy to Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal's swearing-in later today.

Talk of a Third Front with the Samajwadi Party, the Left and Chandrababu Naidu's TDP continues to do the rounds.

Ms Banerjee late last year forced the government to suspend its reforms in retail just days after they were announced. With her 19 MPs, she is an indispensable partner in the UPA. She also accused the Centre of violating the principles of federalism late last year, when the Centre introduced the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha. Though the bill was passed there, it has yet to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

Though Ms Banerjee has said that she remains committed to the UPA, her recent gestures suggest she is not closed to exploring other options. She accepted invites to the swearing-in ceremonies for Akhilesh Yadav in UP and the Akali-BJP government in Punjab; the Congress took offence. Later, she said she would send representatives instead.

High-level meeting on anti-terror body today

Amid escalating row over the Centre's proposal for National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), top Home Ministry officials will try to allay apprehensions about the anti-terror body at a crucial meeting of chief secretaries and police chiefs of all states here today.

During the meeting, Home Ministry officials led by Home Secretary RK Singh will try to explain the scope and functions of the National Counter Terrorism Centre and make it clear that the proposed anti-terror hub will not infringe on the states' power.

However, the meeting is unlikely to cut any ice as non- Congress chief ministers, who strongly objected to setting up of NCTC -- a brain-child of Home Minister P Chidambaram -- have been demanding discussions on the issue at the political level.

Over a dozen chief ministers have opposed the creation of NCTC on the ground that it would hurt the federal structure of the country.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to convene a meeting of chief ministers to discuss the issue.

In all probability, NCTC will be the top agenda at the scheduled meeting of chief ministers to be held here on April 16 if no headway is made in today's meeting.

In the wake of strong protests by non-Congress chief ministers, the Centre has put on hold the operationalisation of the NCTC from March 1 and decided to discuss with the state governments before going ahead with the plan.

Home Ministry officials are expecting participation of all states in the meeting. However, it is to be seen whether non-Congress-ruled states send their representatives,
considering their objection to official level meeting.

In his letter to 10 chief ministers, Home Minister P Chidambaram had assured that the "next steps" on NCTC would be taken only after the meeting of top officials of the states.
The Home Ministry officials are expected to allay the apprehensions of the states which said empowering NCTC with Section 43 (A) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act would infringe on the state's powers. Section 43(A) of UA(P)A gives an officer power to arrest and search.

Mr Chidambaram in his letter had said the powers conferred under Section 43 (A) of the UA(P) Act must be read with the duty under Section 43 (B) to produce the person or article
without unnecessary delay before the nearest police station (which will be under the state government). He also said the SHO of the police station will take further action in accordance with the provisions of the CrPC.

Mr Patnaik, who spearheaded the protests on the ground that it would erode states' powers, in his third letter on NCTC to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had opposed the meeting of officials.

"It is imperative that instead of a meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary, an immediate meeting of chief ministers may be called by you to address the concerns of the states on this very urgent matter regarding the security of the nation," he told the prime minister.

Ms Jayalalithaa and Janata Dal-U, which rules Bihar, had also expressed similar sentiments.

The crucial meeting was originally scheduled on March 9 but postponed to March 12 following requests from several  states which had conveyed their inability to attend the meeting due to Holi festival, short notice and pre-scheduled engagements.

West Bengal Chisef Minister Mamata to meet PM, NCTC on agenda

Amid growing chorus against the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

Mamata and other CMs - Naveen Patnaik, Rama Singh, Nitish Kumar and J Jayalalithaa – are opposed to the anti-terror body; being set up under the Intelligent Bureau (IB), on the grounds that the powers imparted to NCTC would undermine the federal structure.

Last week, the TMC chief had skipped the inauguration programme of the NSG hub in Kolkata by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, apparently to register her opposition to the NCTC.

The NCTC is scheduled to be fully operational by March 1.

The West Bengal CM may also raise the demand for a financial package for the state during her interaction with PM.

Mamata Banerjee will skip inauguration ceremony of NSG hub today

A day after opposing the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) along with six other chief ministers, Mamata Banerjee will on today skip the inauguration ceremony of a National Security Guards (NSG) hub near here.

The NSG hub at Badu in North 24 Parganas district will be inaugurated by Home Minister P Chidambaram, who had mooted the idea to set up an anti-terror intelligence hub, named NCTC.

The development comes as another setback to the Congress-TMC alliance which has been going through a rough patch for quite some time.

Banerjee on Friday, along with her counterparts from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, came out against a the setting up of NCTC from March 1, saying such a powerful body would infringe upon the rights of states.

In Andhra Pradesh, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu also spoke out against the anti-terror body.

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government tried to play down the issue, with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying a decision would be taken after studying the criticism.

Led by the most vocal Naveen Patnaik of Odisha, the chief ministers declared that they were against the NCTC because they had not been consulted before New Delhi notified it.

In separate letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, six of them complained that the proposed NCTC would infringe on the federal structure and the rights of state governments.

The powerful anti-terror agency, a brainchild of Chidambaram, will integrate and analyse inputs on terror threats in India. It becomes functional on March 1.

It allows Central government agencies to make arrests or searches in terrorism-hit states without seeking permission from their governments.

Mamata writes to PM, says NCTC is infringing on the federal rights of states

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to "review and withdraw" an order that sets up a National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Ms Banerjee has backed the Chief Minister of neighbouring Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, in his contention that the setting up of the NCTC would infringe on the federal rights of states. Mr Patnaik said he had been discussing this not only with Ms Banerjee but also Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also opposed the NCTC, which is Home Minister P Chidambaram's pet project as part of the Centre's fight against terrorism.

The CMs finding common cause is politically interesting; the issue has brought together UPA ally Mamata Banerjee, Mr Patnaik who heads the Biju Janata Dal, which is part of the BJP-led NDA, Ms Jayalalithaa whose AIADMK fought elections last year in partnership with the Left and Mr Nitish Kumar is a leader of the JD (U), again a part of the NDA.

Ms Banerjee's letter was made public by Naveen Patnaik's office today. Mr Patnaik says this is not a pressure group against the Centre, but "CMs who are extremely concerned for their states." The Odisha CM said he too had written a letter on the issue to the Prime Minister, but had received no reply yet. "The Centre's notification completely bypassed the states; this government is happily passing authoritarian orders without consulting states. I am shocked by this."

In a federal structure, the letter said, any decision of the central government, which infringed upon the powers and rights of the state governments should be taken only after adequate consultation and with the consent of the state governments. "This has not been done in the instant case," it said, adding that the present order did not require that the NCTC would discharge its functions in coordination and consultation with the state police or the state government.

"The order, therefore, appears to be an infringement on the powers of state governments in matters of investigation and maintenance of order," Ms Banerjee said in the letter.

The NCTC is envisaged as a body that will have sweeping powers to go to any state, arrest and fly out suspects. Law and order is a state subject in India.

Ms Banerjee's letter points out that under the order issued on February 3, extensive powers have been given to the NCTC located in the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and added that officers of the Operations Division of the NCTC will have the power to arrest and the powers to search under section 4 3-A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Also all authorities including the functionaries of the state governments are required to provide information/documents to the NCTC, Ms Banerjee said.