NCTC meet

The proposed changes in standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) may not suffice to convince chief ministers, touchy about intrusion on federal turf, to drop objections to the terror body being armed with countrywide powers to raid and arrest. The strong objections of non-Congress CMs like Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu’s J Jayalalitha, besides BJP CMs like Shivraj Chouhan, Raman Singh and Narendra Modi, will pose a challenge to the NCTC’s present form at the meeting called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday. The “designated authority” offered by the home ministry — which will incorporate state officials — may not prove to be enough for CMs who are not prepared to countenance an NCTC under the supervision of the Intelligence Bureau having the power to conduct raids, make seizures and arrests in the states. The home ministry’s reluctance to consider putting the police powers on hold has meant that the NCTC — delayed for more than two years — has been further stalled. This, despite a wide agreement about the need for a central multi-disciplinary body to assess medium- and longterm threats. 
The home ministry had sent two sets of SOPs to CMs, clarifying several points of the February 3 notification. It said the ‘powers’ and procedure lie within the framework of a standing council, comprising top police officials from all states which will not act ‘unilaterally’. The home ministry’s agenda paper for the Saturday meeting says the council will meet as often as necessary and may also hold consultations by video conference.