New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh defended the proposed National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) saying it will “supplement” the anti-terror capabilities of States and “not supplant” them.


Addressing the NCTC meeting on Saturday in New Delhi, Dr Singh said that the proposed anti-terror agency is not the State versus Centre issue. “It is not the government’s intention to affect distribution of powers between States and the Union (government)”, he said the Chief Ministers, who are opposing the formation of the body.


“The setting up of NCTC is aimed to coordinate counter-terror efforts throughout this vast country. The NCTC will supplement the States’ anti-terror capabilities and not supplant them”, he said.


Backing the NCTC, Dr Singh said, "The NCTC should be a vehicle of our combined efforts to eradicate terrorism. Terrorism is one of the threats to our national security. Neither the States nor the centre can fulfill this task alone".


He said that the proposed body will give each state a capability to see the bigger picture of terror threat. However, the Centre is open to have suggestions from the Chief Ministers, he added.


Dr Singh hoped that the discussion over the NCTC will take place in a spirit of harmony and cooperation, which is essential to challenge the terrorism in the country.


Earlier, addressing the chief ministers, Home Minister P Chidambaram said that countering terrorism is a shared responsibility between states and Centre as per the Constitution.


"Terrorist acts go across borders and countries…under the international obligation, we share borders with many countries, a number of international gateways, will have to necessary work with number of agencies," said Chidambaram.


He said that there had been demands to fight the terrorism after the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the NCTC will work effectively to challenge the terrorism in India.


While the meeting proceeded, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi raised his voice against the proposal of the Centre, citing the Batla House encounter, which is still suspense. The Union government is still not clear whether it is a genuine encounter between the terrorists and Delhi Police, which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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