SOPs’ draft circulated to States
NEW DELHI, Apr 30:
Faced with frequent incidents of abduction, the Centre today said if the controversial National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) comes into existence, it would help in the long run to deal with hostage situations in a better way.
Home Minister P Chidambaram said he was not sure whether NCTC would come up or not and if it comes up, then the proposed anti-terror body should be allowed to build capacity and lay out its own standard operating procedures (SOPs) and gain experience.
“Yes, I think in the medium to long term, an NCTC would help us deal with such a situation in a better way,” he said at a press conference here.
He was responding to a question on whether the NCTC would help the Government to deal with hostage situations like the abduction of Sukma District Collector Alex Paul Menon and the two recent hostage situations in Odisha.
Chief Ministers like Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik, Tamil Nadu’s J Jayalalitha, Gujarat’s Narendra Modi, Bihar’s Nitish Kumar and UPA ally and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and others have been opposing the creation of NCTC alleging that the powers to be vested on NCTC would hurt the federal structure of the country and curb states’ powers.
The Centre has convened a meeting of Chief Ministers on May 5 to exclusively discuss the issue of NCTC.
The Home Minister said the draft of the two SOPs for operating the NCTC were circulated to the states would allay many apprehensions of the Chief Ministers who have expressed their concerns.
“I think if the Chief Ministers will read (the SOPs), I believe they will read, much of the doubts will be dissolved and at the (May 5) meeting if they have any suggestion on the SOPs, we are willing to listen those suggestions, incorporate as many as possible,” Chidambaram said.
The Home Minister said the Central Government would make it clear that fighting terrorism was a shared responsibility of both Central as well as the State Governments.
Asked whether the Centre was considering to frame a hostage policy to deal with Maoists, Chidambaram said the Government must think about this when it was not facing an actual hostage situation.
“I think the Home Secretary has sounded out to his counterparts in the states that we should have a hostage policy but that can be taken up only when the current hostage situation (in Chhattisgarh) is resolved,” he said.
The Home Minister said he was in regular touch with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh while Union Home Secretary R K Singh was in touch with State Chief Secretary and the DGP and the Central Government was fully abreast of the developments.
“I am happy to know that the Collector is safe and the medicines have reached him. We are dealing with them and we have offered them help,” he said.
Chidambaram dismissed the suggestion that it was not coordinating with the State Governments like it does whenever there is a terrorist attack.
“The situation is handled by the State Governments. At the first opportunity, we have told the State Government that we are willing to offer any assistance that they may require. We are available for consultation. It is for the State Government to handle the situation. And if they ask for assistance we are ready to help,” he said.
“If there is an ongoing terrorist attack, the Central Government appears to be more active as it sends forces like it did when Mumbai happened (26/11). In a hostage situation we are active behind the scene. But we can be active otherwise only when State wants any specific help. I don’t think the two are comparable,” Chidambaram said.
Asked whether anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh have slowed down, Chidambaram said, “At least in Odisha and Chhattisgarh anti-naxal operations have slowed down or put on hold pending the resolution of the hostage situation. When there is a hostage situation certainly some things slow down,” he said.
The Home Minister said whenever the central intelligence agencies gather any specific information, they always share it with the concerned State Government or officer concerned about threat but “we are not generally sensitising District Collectors. But we tell the District Collectors, district level officers of the Naxal affected districts to be careful”.
Asked about the proposed amendment in the Border Security Force (BSF) Act, the Home Minister said he had written to the Chief Ministers who did not respond earlier when he asked for comments on the proposal.
“Some Chief Ministers have began to respond. I have explained to them that the Bill does not touch Section 139, which confers powers. That Section is intact, not a word is added to that Section. All that is being done is since the Act restricts the deployment of BSF in border areas and since now we are obliged to deploy in interior districts, we added border areas and some other areas.
“That is the only change the Bill seeks to make. So, we have explained to them in a detailed letter and I expect that the Chief Ministers will respond to that letter. Once the letters come, we will again take up the Bill in the Rajya Sabha,” he said.
During the first part of the Budget Session, the BSF (Amendment) Bill was deferred in the Rajya Sabha after the Opposition and outside supporters of UPA – SP and BSP – flagged some ‘federal issues’ and insisted that the bill be brought after the Chief Ministers’ meeting on internal security.
Asked whether the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) would be withdrawn from some areas in J&K, Chidambaram said consultation process for that was on.
“It was placed before Unified Command in J&K. The Unified Command appointed two committees to look into the matter. They looked into the matter. They have given their reports to the Unified Command.
“The Chief minister of J&K has discussed it with Central Government leaders. It is an ongoing process. I hope that the process will lead us to take a decision,” he said.
On announcement by a US Government official that the American Government has not announced any bounty on LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, Chidambaram said, “US Government has not said it, one official of the US Government has said it. I go by the statement released by the US Government which did offer a sum of 10 million USD to anyone giving information about Hafiz Saeed”.
Asked whether there was a security lapse when Congress chief Sonia Gandhi attended a public function in Karnataka on Saturday, the Home Minister said one person in a large gathering pulling out a black flag and waving it did not amount to a serious security lapse.
“At best it is a minor lapse on part of the policemen or police women who were frisking the members who gathered there. Security breach is something, which threatens the security of the protected person. So I do not think that was a security lapse,” he said.
On talks with the ULFA, the Home Minister said dialogue was making progress and it was not slow.
“It is making progress, not slow. But there is an anti-talk faction. So, those who are participating in the talks are taking great precautions,” he said.
Chidambaram termed the ongoing talks with Naga insurgency groups NSCN (IM) as “very satisfactory”. (PTI)
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