States have a right to protest NCTC: Jaitley

New Delhi: The BJP on Tuesday said government's decision to form the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) through an executive order was a breach of the federal structure and demanded that the decision be kept in abeyance till a consensus is evolved with the states.

Expressing support to the chief ministers of the states which have opposed the NCTC in its present form, the party alleged that the Centre took the decision to establish the anti-terror body without consulting the states.

"This is one of the many instances which show that statecraft and statesmanship have become alien to this government...We are not a union of states but have a federal structure. If the government questions this, the states have a right to protest," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told reporters in New Delhi.

Maintaining that federalism is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution which no Parliament can change, Jaitley said public order and police powers are functions of the states in the federal set-up.

The BJP insisted that the fight against terrorism is as much a responsibility of the states as that of the Centre and to combat it effectively the states have to be involved.

The party said the present executive order for forming the NCTC should be kept in abeyance and the states should be consulted to evolve a consensus.

"The Centre cannot substitute police powers of the states. It can only aid and assist. The Centre cannot take away from the states their power of search and seizure, and the power to arrest," Jaitley said.

He cited the example of TADA and POTA, two central laws for which the states were the implementing agency.

Jaitley alleged that the track record of the government in the fight against terror is "suspect" as it had repealed POTA earlier and had also refused to give its nod to states which wanted to pass anti-terror laws. Furthermore, it has been reluctant to carry out the sentences given to those convicted in terror activities, he said.

He maintained that the Centre has a responsibility when it comes to fighting cross-border terrorism, inter-state crimes and in gathering national intelligence as the states cannot handle them. But the powers of the states to legislate and implement matters of law and order, search and seizure and arrest should not be encroached upon, he said.

The BJP alleged that though initially Home Minister P Chidambaram had tried to fight Naxalism, due to internal differences in the Congress, he tried to "abdicate" his functions by arguing that law and order was a state subject and the Centre could only assist.

"He is now doing a volte-face with NCTC," Jaitley said.

Jaitley insisted that a balance could be struck between fighting terror and keeping the federal structure intact.

"The fight against terror must co-exist with federalism. There is no contradiction between the two... Fighting against terror is not the sole responsibility of the Centre," he said.

The BJP further maintained that the Centre does not have the wherewithal like police stations to function alone.

Jaitley replied in the negatives when asked if the states joining hands to oppose NCTC meant a resurgence of the Third Front.