Manik Sarkar to attend chief ministers' meet

Agartala, April 15 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, who along with a few other chief ministers had forced the central government to convene a special meeting on setting up of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), left here Sunday to attend Monday's crucial meet in New Delhi.

A Tripura government official said here Sunday that the April 16 meeting, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, would review the internal security situation in the country.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram would hold a separate meeting on the NCTC with the chief ministers May 5.

"Tripura chief minister would likely to raise the contentious issue of NCTC in the Monday's meeting," the official said.

Sarkar, also a Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member, earlier in a letter to the prime minister strongly opposed the proposed counter-terror intelligence centre and demanded a meeting of chief ministers.

Many non-Congress ruled states including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu counterpart J.Jayalalithaa besides Tripura chief minister have opposed the NCTC alleging that in its present form it amounts to infringement of the states' powers.