NCTC misses March 1 date, fate uncertain
A new date for NCTC will now be fixed only after the Union home secretary RK Singh will meet DGPs and heads of Anti-Terrorist Organisations of states.
Union home minister P Chidambaram’s dream project NCTC (National Counter Terrorism Centre) will miss the date of March 1 to become operational, as notified through an executive order.
A new date for NCTC will now be fixed only after March 10 - when the Union home secretary RK Singh will meet DGPs and heads of Anti-Terrorist Organisations of states to try to bring them on board.
In his letter to ten chief ministers on February 24, Chidambaram had assured calling such a meeting before taking any further steps.
The meeting is expected to lead to Chidambaram having another meeting with the chief ministers for their main objection has been that Centre bypassed the federal structure by not keeping the states in the loop when it took such an important decision.
“In all probability, the fate of NCTC will be decided only in mid April during the annual meet on internal security when all the chief ministers and state DGPs will discuss its implications threadbare with the prime minister as well as the home minister,” a senior home ministry source said.