Terror Probe Agency: Where Is NTCT Working?

The twin blasts in Hyderabad have made the home ministry revive the efforts for a National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) with the powers to operate across the country. The NCTC, an idea conceived by P. Chidambaram when he was home minister, was stillborn as it was rejected last year by states ruled by non-Congress parties. They called it an affront to federalism and were not satisfied with the Union government's explanation that the NCTC would function independent of the Intelligence Bureau, an overarching fighter against terrorism. 

Even some of the Congress governments were not enthused by the idea. Chidambaram, however, had been convinced of the need for such a centre after studying the anti-terror mechanisms established in the US after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Chidambaram's successor, Sushilkumar Shinde, initially had a lukewarm approach to the NCTC, as he felt that the last-mile policing should be left to the state governments. But now, Shinde has taken up this proposal and has been engaging non-Congress chief ministers. He reached out to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, promising that whenever the NCTC conducts operations, the state concerned would be informed in advance. He has also promised to have a separate channel for the NCTC, which would report direct to the home minister. The IB, however, would be providing inputs.

The BJP, which rules important states like Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and is an ally in the governments in Bihar and Punjab, is still not convinced by Shinde's modified proposal. Chief Ministers J. Jayalalithaa of Tamil Nadu, Omar Abdullah of Jammu and Kashmir and Naveen Patnaik of Odisha are all strong opponents of the NCTC. Akhilesh Yadav, who rules the largest state in the country, Uttar Pradesh, has also not come on board.

There are also doubts among top bureaucrats about the need for one more apex organisation to fight terror, as the National Investigation Agency, modelled after the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US, is already probing terrorism cases all over the country. Instead of expanding and strengthening the NIA, creating a parallel agency could lead to confusion. 

Incidentally, another agency, which could deal strongly with terrorism, is languishing. The Joint Intelligence Committee under the prime minister is supposed to collate intelligence from the IB, Research and Analysis Wing, and the intelligence wings of the armed forces and the paramilitary forces. The JIC is now seen as a place to accommodate surplus officers from the police and the armed forces, as it has no operational mandate and does not even effectively function as a good post office for intelligence alerts. Shinde, however, is keener on the NCTC, and he hopes to succeed where Chidambaram did not.