That the office of the NSA came under fire after the terror attacks of 26/11 can be attributed to the fact that the present incumbent may have given the impression that the NSA is an intelligence czar. That role is now proposed to be assigned to a new counter-terrorism centre under the Union home ministry. Another argument, which was advanced even earlier, is that internal and external security are looked after by home and defence ministries so why do we need the NSA?
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Narayanan was officiating as NSA after the death of J N Dixit earlier this month.
'He is still compulsively an operations man. Just a whiff of a live operation, and he is back in the field, at least in his mind. That is why the immediate decision to send the NSG to Pathankot.' 'But there is a difference between classical intelligence or counter-terror operation and dealing with a larger threat to a place as sensitive and sprawling as an air force base. This is what led to confusion and mix-ups,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The Modi PMO is like none other: It is staffed by people who are so low profile that the only dominant personality is the Prime Minister's.