NEW DELHI, Feb 22 � The fate of the ambitious counter-terror body NCTC seems to have run into uncertainty following strong protests by non-Congress Chief Ministers with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking Home Minister P Chidambaram to address their concerns.
With the budget session of Parliament approaching, the government is unlikely to antagonise the opposition parties by operationalising the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) on March 1 as per schedule, sources said.
After burning its fingers
following announcement of FDI in multi-brand retail during the winter sessions of Parliament, the UPA government seems to be keen on avoiding another showdown with the opposition parties on the NCTC and prefers to have dialogue with states to allay their apprehensions.
Sources said the Home Ministry is gearing up to deal with the concerns of the states and planning to invite the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of all states to explain the Centre�s stand on NCTC and various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, particularly the 43(A) and 43(B), which will be used by the NCTC. These two sections are the key irritants of the states.
The UA(P) Act provision 43(A) empowers police to arrest and search while 43(B) says any officer arresting a person under section 43(A) shall inform him of the grounds for such arrest and every person arrested and article seized under section 43(A) shall be forwarded without unnecessary delay to the officer in charge of the nearest police station. PTI
