As the debate over the National Counter Terrorism Centre ( NCTC)    is heating up,  it is clear that  besides non Congress run states, some Congress alliance run states  are  also against   the proposed NCTC. In the recently concluded CM’s conference  this clash has become more evident  and while Bihar’s Nitish Kumar  has termed it  as violation of  principle of federalism, Narendra Modi of Gujrat has moved a step further by saying that the Central Government was behaving like   Viceroy of Yore.  More serious observation has been made by none other than our own Chief  Minister  Omer Abdullah  who has  termed it  as akin to AFSPA.
India has been facing armed insurgencies since its independence. From  Nagaland to  Assam  and  from Punjab to Kashmir   armed conflicts  have continued   with high to low intensities  in the last 60 years. But it was after 26/11 Mumbai attacks that central Govt  thought to set up a Counter Terrorism Centre  so that  it can meet the challenges of terrorism   more effectively. During the Mumbai  attacks it was  revealed that  lack of co-ordination between various security & intelligence  agencies  was a key factor and  thus  there was need for a central anti terror  force . Though Mr Chidambaram, the architect of  NCTC   has  said that it will be an important  pillar of the future security architecture, but there are no takers  for his argument.
India has very effectively fought the armed insurgencies in many states  like Manipur, Nagaland, Assam , Punjab & more recently in Jammu & Kashmir. Question arises what is the need now  to form  NCTC  while the  world has turned all around against terrorism or armed insurgencies. Even  where the will of common people has been suppressed  and the people who fight for genuine causes  have been compelled to  shun violence and start peaceful political movements. So the terror  threat perception  has not only decreased but India’s position on terrorism  has been globally  acknowledged. It has got  clear support from powerful nations including USA. India has fought some of the bloodiest  insurgencies  &  terror networks with its present security & intelligence networks  and  while  the terror threat is  decreasing, the formation of  NCTC  has raised many eyebrows  among  states. While some  see it as a deliberate attempt to  weaken state authority  while some  others accused the central Government of creating trust deficit.
At present India is facing Moist  insurgency  which is not  new as it has remained a problem  since last many decades. Though it has increased in some states  in recent times  but it is not a beyond control situation. Punjab has turned peaceful and Kashmir is  steadily returning to normalcy. However India may be concerned with US troop withdrawal from Afganistan in 2014 . An unstable Pakistan  with growing fundamentalism   and leaving Karzai at the mercy of Talibans, the Indian concern is some what  genuine. But the Moist problem is more political  &  various political parties and social organisations  have repeatedly asked the central Govt to solve  this problem politically. The  Afghan  insurgency issue has been well tackled by Indian security forces in Kashmir  and  with changing situation in Kashmir , it hardly remains  any issue  for the security apparatus  in Kashmir. In fact the local police has fought  and eliminated  Afghan insurgents  in Kashmir   and local police has emerged as a deterrent  to such elements. Thus the  apprehensions of various Chief Ministers seem to be  gaining ground  and even the assurances of the Prime Minister has failed to break any ice.
The proposed powers of the agency include Search and arrest in any State without informing the local police. It will create serious issues within states  and at times may create  law & order problems  which may go at times out of control for local administration. Thus  Mr Omer Abdullah has very rightly said that this provision is as harsh as AFSPA. As the State Govt has been pushing hard for revocation of AFSPA from certain areas, the formation of  NCTC in its present form will create a more serious problem for J&K in particular because of political sensitivities  of the State. Besides this it will also make   the case of AFSPA revocation irrelevant as the New agency will come out with more stringent powers. So despite running a coalition with Congress, the CM has taken a logical stand on this issue  and all political parties must  support  him  on this crucial issue. Two regional parties BJP & PDP also need to  support the state CM’s position on this crucial issue.

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Lastupdate on : Tue, 8 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 8 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 9 May 2012 00:00:00 IST