Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has joined the bandwagon of CMs who are up in arms against the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) order issued by Home Ministry and has written to the Prime Minister saying the “unilateral” order would only create “misunderstanding”.
In a letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday, the Tripura CM has requested the PM that the NCTC order be withdrawn and a process of wider consultations initiated. In the letter, Sarkar said that it was “unfortunate and surprising” that the NCTC order which dealt with security, an issue closely related to states had been issued without proper consultations.
“Considering that ‘Public order’ and ‘Police’ is a state subject under the Constitution of India, this action of the MHA amounts to encroachment on the powers of the state,” Sarkar wrote in the letter.
“All of us are fully committed to counter the menace of terrorism in the country. You are aware about the manner in which terrorism has been brought under control in Tripura,” Sarkar wrote and added the state, Central government and people had all contributed to restoring peace.
The Tripura Chief Minister said that the need of the hour was for the states and the Centre to cooperate but the NCTC order would only create misunderstanding.
“The unilateral order issued by the MHA will only create misunderstanding between the centre and the states and will defeat the very purpose for which it has been issued,”Sarkar wrote in his letter to the PM.
Sarkar said that the Federal structure of the country was a basic feature of the Constitution and he was “pained to mention that of late, there has been a trend to violate this basic structure of our constitution, which needs to be discouraged”.
The Tripura CM has asked the PM to withdraw the NCTC order and initiate a process of wider consultations. (PTI)
