News Desk: The chief ministers of the states opposed the formation of anti-terror agency National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) proposed by the Centre. While Mamata Banerjee rejected the proposal, Narendra Modi questioned the Centre's ability to tackle terrorism.


Despite the Prime Minister's assurance at the meeting that the NCTC will supplement the anti-terror capabilities of States, the chief ministers slammed the Centre saying the federal structure will be violated if the NCTC will become operational.


West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the federal structure of India is a sacrosanct. The Law and order is a state subject and the Centre should work with the states.


She demanded to withdraw the NCTC opposing the proposal. Even Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik opposed the proposal at the meeting chaired by Dr Singh on Saturday.


Jayalalithaa accused the Centre of taking the country towards “autocracy” and demanded that a sub-committee of Chief Ministers should be set up to go into the proposed counter-terror body.


"The NCTC, as has now been notified, should be kept in abeyance, as already advocated by me in my letter to the Honourable Prime Minister earlier, till the sub-committee of Chief Ministers gives its report," she said.


"As a matter of fact, any discussion on NCTC is infructuous as long as the notification of NCTC is in force," Jayalalithaa said.


Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik slammed the Centre's proposal and said that no other democracy has given such wide ranging powers to their secret intelligence agencies.


Strong objection had come from Gujarat chef Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting. He slammed the Centre recalling the Batla House encounter saying the Centre's contradictory stand showed its inability to identify the enemy.


Even Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh opposed the proposal at the meeting. He said that the powers given to the NCTC violated the Constitution. In order to set up the agency, several amendments are required. He demanded a National Hostage Police to deal with abduction cases that the state has recently experienced with the abduction of Sukma district collector by the Maoists.


Earlier at the meeting, Dr Singh had said that the NCTC will not infringe on state rights. But Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had defended the anti-terror body saying terror knows no state boundaries.


Backing the NCTC, the PM had said that the proposed anti-terror agency is not the State versus Centre issue. "It will supplement the anti-terror capabilities of States and not supplant them.


The government is facing opposition on the setting up of NCTC from all the states ruled by NDA and even its own ally TMC. Even Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also opposed the proposal.

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