'War against terror can't be won if states work independently'

In the midst of opposition to NCTC from non-Congress Chief Ministers, Home Secretary RK Singh today said the Centre has the duty to fight those who wage war against the nation and this war can't be won if states start working independently.

"It is the duty of the Central government to deal with terrorists and to coordinate with the states to tackle the terrorists. If all states work independently and if there is no coordination, can we win this fight ?," he told reporters when asked to comment on the opposition to NCTC.

Singh said dealing with someone waging war was the responsibility of the Central government.

"It is the Central government's responsibility to tackle someone who wages war against the nation. That is in the Union List (in the Constitution). We can't fight terrorism in this manner," he said.

The Home Secretary said the law that has been referred to (by the Chief Ministers) has been in the statute book since 1967.

"There were some amendment in 2004 and again in 2008. The section that has been talked about, all these were part of that law (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) since 2004. It has been there for last eight years," he said.

Chief Ministers of non-Congress and BJP-ruled states and a Congress ally had raised a banner of revolt against the Centre's proposal to set up an apex counter-terror agency, saying it struck at the federalism and usurped states' powers.

The protest was lodged by several Chief Ministers, including Naveen Patnaik (Odisha), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), J Jayalalitha (Tamil Nadu), Narendra Modi (Gujarat) and Shivraj Singh Chauhan (Madhya Pradesh).