NCTC row: Advani hopes Centre will respect Constitution's federal structure

Raipur, May 6 (ANI): A day after the Centre failed to break the logjam over the anti-terror body National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), with non-Congress chief ministers stoutly opposing and some of them even demanding its withdrawal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Lal Krishna Advani on Sunday expressed hope that the UPA Government will respect the federal structure, as it is an essential part of the Indian Constitution.

"I do expect that the manner in which all the chief ministers, who visited New Delhi yesterday including Dr. Raman Singh (Chattisgarh Chief Minister), have told the Central Government forcefully that the federal structure is an essential part of the Indian Constitution. And if the Centre tries to weaken it by any means, if the Centre tries to increase its right by suppressing our rights, then the states will not accept it," Advani told mediapersons here on the sidelines of the launch of the Raipur edition of English daily 'The Pioneer'.

"I expect that the Indian Government will respect the federal structure following the viewpoints put forward by chief ministers during the discussions that took place yesterday," he added.

On Saturday, the state governments and the Centre differed on the powers to be allocated to the new anti-terror body.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram met with the state chief ministers in Delhi to arrive at a consensus on the NCTC issue.

Non-Congress ruled states alleged that the NCTC violates the federal structure and demanded drastic changes in the proposed law.

The main task of the NCTC would be to ensure that a wide variety of security organizations in the country work in tandem, at least on issues related to terrorism.

It will also have the power to seek information, including documents, reports, transcripts, and cyber information from any agency, including from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Investigation Agency, National Technical Research Organization, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and all seven central armed police forces including the National Security Guard (NSG).

The body, which will function under the Intelligence Bureau, would be given its own operational wing with powers to arrest and conduct searches under Section 43A of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. (ANI)