Political Diary

New Delhi, 25 February 2012

NCTC:  Centre vs. States

NECESSARY OR DEADLY COCKTAIL?

By Poonam I Kaushish

Much ado about nothing or the need of the hour? Two questions which have trapped the setting up of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in a vicious Centre vs. States firestorm with 10 States opposing it. Led by the UPA’s stormy petrel W Bengal’s Mamata Bannerjee it includes the Chief Ministers of Odisha, Bihar, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Himachal, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura. No matter that all agree that terrorism is the deadliest bane to our country

Importantly, the crux of the issue is that the NCTC, an unit of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) would disrupt the federal structure and usurp the legitimate rights of the States by arming the Centre with sweeping powers to carry out searches and make arrests under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The idea begin to prevent confusion over intelligence inputs and ensure the police from various States do not indulge in a blame game vis-à-vis intelligence sharing as seen post the 26/11 Mumbai attacks..

Raising a moot point: Are the States trying to score political points? Is it simply a clash of bruised egos as the Centre failed to consult the States before forming it? Will the NCTC become another KGB or ISI as the IB is not accountable to Parliament? A Frankenstein monster under the absolute control of the Centre? Would it lead to a witch hunt? Or merely end up being just another agency to create jobs? All this and more.

The States argument are four fold. One, even as the UPA talks of fighting terror as the joint responsibility of the States, on the other it forms a body with super powers whereby it does not need to consult the States at all! With law and order being a State subject, the States worry that NCTC, could become so powerful that it would wipe out any power that they have in the fight against terrorism.

Two, as the basic intelligence about terrorist activity is fed by the State beat constable and passed on to the higher ups, how would the NCTC work without coordinating with the State police? Three, the NCTC could be misused to suit political ends rather than fighting terrorism wherein arrests are part of a campaign against an Opposition Government. Recall, Indira Gandhi put many of her political opponents in jail by branding them as threats to national security during the Emergency.

If the Centre’s IB and the NCTC are going to do everything in fighting terror then what would the States do? Also, what if a State has information on terror activity? Would it have to go through the process of informing the NCTC first thereby causing a delay or would it get to act on its own?

Think. A suspected terrorist is holed up in a State. The NCTC officials enter and pick him up without informing the State Government and deal with him under Central laws. Wouldn’t the State’s role become redundant with no say or role to play in the fight against terrorism?

The Centre counters that Article 342 gives it powers to prevent illegal activities in any part of the country. Asserts a senior IB official, “To deal with terrorism operationalising powers are crucial. As a strike has to be a hush-hush. One cannot afford to involve many people as vital information could be leaked. The idea is to have faster access to information and intelligence.”

Either way, undoubtedly, India needs a NCTC as terrorism is a pan-national, global phenomenon. Arguably, since terrorists can move across State boundaries at will, it makes sense to have a security agency unencumbered by these boundaries and competing political interference. Terrorism is not a simple law and order matter and is a dastardly crime which has inter-State and international ramifications,

See. Whenever a serious terrorist incident takes place, State Governments invariably quibble that there had no advance intelligence from Central agencies or take recourse to complaining that the State police forces are neither equipped nor geared to counter threats of such magnitude, especially those driven from across the borders.

What next? The Government needs to build complete political consensus and frame laws protecting the States’ interests, ensure that States are kept in the loop besides insulating the NCTC from political influence. After all, counter-terrorism cannot be the responsibility of the Centre alone as it would become political and partisan in nature. States too have a role by feeding information and working in tandem.

In fact, almost all major democracies including US, UK, and other European countries have enacted and created Central agencies to tackle the terrorist menace, within the framework of their respective federal structures, placing national security concerns above partisan politics. In the US, the NCTC is an independent institution functioning under the supervision of the Director, National Intelligence. It co-ordinates the functioning of the counter-terrorism divisions of the various agencies of the intelligence community.

The Chiefs of the various intelligence agencies do not have any powers of supervision over the NCTC. The idea of making it independent was to ensure that it would take an objective view of the functioning of the counter-terrorism divisions of different agencies and ensure proper-coordination. The expectation was that being an independent agency, its functioning would not be affected by inter-agency clashes and egos.

Undeniably, countering terrorism isn't just a matter of setting up such agencies. There is no substitute for local, beat policing, the backbone of city (primary target of terrorists) security. Towards that end, police reforms too must be carried out even as the Centre moves towards the final aim of a coordinated security apparatus in its fight against terrorism. Remember, it is as much a responsibility of the States as that of the Centre and to combat it effectively the States have to be involved. The Centre cannot substitute police powers of the States. It can only aid and assist.

In the ultimate, instead of making the NCTC a prestige issue, the Prime Minister and Home Minister Chidambaram need to consult, accommodate dissenting States views and take their support for a proper framework of the NCTC before setting it up. The country has to function as one, irrespective of which Party is in power.

Our federal system mandates that both the Union and State Governments work in tandem. In no way can the Union Government impose its will. For the federal system to succeed there is an urgent need to reach a consensus on terrorism. It is not just a question of respecting the principles of federalism. It is a question of strengthening the unity and security of India. Along-with adhering to the principles of a genuine democracy. Will our leaders heed? ----- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)