The home ministry has postponed a meeting of top police and civil officials of all states scheduled for March 9 to end the logjam on the National Counter Terrorism Centre and it will now be held on March 12.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Friday demanded blocking of live telecast of India-Pakistan match during the Asia Cup next month, citing national interest and public sentiment.
India reasserted that Pakistan requested a cessation of firing via DGMO contact and addressed concerns about Pakistan's roles in UNSC committees.
Any fresh terrorist strike in India by Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba would hurt the United States' national security interest and its counter-terrorism interests in the region, a top Obama administration intelligence official has told lawmakers.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says India achieved all objectives of Operation Sindoor, emphasizing that escalating the situation to war with Pakistan was not the aim. He highlighted India's fight against cross-border terrorism and the successful exposure of Pakistan's air defense system.
Of all the chief ministers who have protested against the proposed creation of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre in the Intelligence Bureau of the government of India with effect from March 1, 2012 without consulting the state governments, only J Jayalalithaa, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, has got it right, says B Raman.
By creating a multiplicity of organisations having powers to arrest and by giving these powers to the NCTC which will work under the director, IB, we will be taking an unwise step which could further politicise our handling of counter-terrorism, says B Raman.
Stung by WikiLeaks' publication of classified US diplomatic cables, President Barack Obama has roped in a veteran counter-terrorism official to oversee efforts to plug the gaping security gaps.
"We are concerned that next month's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi will be an appealing target for Lashkar-e-Tayiba due to their political and economic significance for India," said Michael Leiter, the Director of the US National Counter-terrorism Centre.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday unveiled a new counter-terrorism plan, proposing to divide the home ministry by hiving off a separate internal security ministry.As part of this plan, he also proposed the setting up of a National Counter Terrorism Centre within 24 months, to which all intelligence agencies will report, and to re-examine the role of Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing which deal with internal and external intelligence respectively.
Noting that heavy deployment of security forces in neighbouring Chhattisgarh was driving Maoists to his state, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday demanded two additional Central Reserve Police Force battalions and a military chopper to "effectively" tackle the extremists.
Accusing the Centre of double speak, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said though the United Progressive Alliance government claimed that security was a "shared" responsibility of the Centre and states, it did not bother to consult states when it came to forming laws.
A day after non-Congress chief ministers and an ally attacked the Centre over National Counter Terrorism Centre, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday lamented the "mistrust" harboured by some states and expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved in the May 5 meeting.
Julio Ribeiro, the Mumbai police chief who sprang to superstardom after leading the Punjab Police during the Khalistan insurgency, has experience with both state-level and counterterrorism policing. And he is doubtful whether the National Counter-Terrorism Centre is really needed.
The Centre on Saturday failed to break the logjam on the controversial anti-terror body National Counter Terrorism Centre with non-Congress chief ministers stoutly opposing and some of them demanding its withdrawal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who chose to skip the chief ministers' conference on internal security in New Delhi, on Monday voiced her dissent over the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre and asked the Centre to play an "effective coordinating role" to counter Naxalism.
After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's strong opposition, her Tamil Nadu counterpart Jayalalithaa on Monday asked the Centre to put on hold formation of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, which is sought to be "steamrolled" into existence.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre was nothing but a ploy to take away states' powers by the United Progressive Alliance. Accusing the Centre of weakening the federal system, Modi questioned the need for a NCTC instead of anti-terror laws such as the Prevention Of Terrorism Act. Through this proposed body, the Centre wanted to use the Intelligence Bureau in states' domain, he said.
Voicing reservations over the full-fledged operationalisation of the ambitious National Counter Terror Centre, Congress-ruled Karnataka on Wednesday said the body should not be given "unbridled powers".
Terming the National Counter Terrorism Centre as a "constitutionally vulnerable" instrument which went against the country's federal structure, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh why the fight against terror through the Prevention Of Terrorism Act was "compromised" for vote-bank politics. "When you talk of fighting against terror with a constitutionally vulnerable instrument, BJP puts forth some questions to you," said BJP leader.
Rejecting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's contention -- that the National Counter Terrorism Centre is a poorly conceived idea -- the Centre on Wednesday said the country will have to pay a heavy price if the anti-terror hub does not come into existence. Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the architect of the NCTC, said it was "deeply regrettable" that a few chief ministers opposed even the modified version of the NCTC.
Favouring a coordinated strategy at the national level, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Monday said that terrorism and naxalism have to be dealt with tough hands.
Is she, like the AIADMK's Jayalalithaa with the Vajpayee government in 1998, playing bully to a government that she knows cannot survive without her Parliamentary support? Or is there a greater scheme behind her erratic actions? Discussing the mercurial Mamata Banerjee on the Rediff Chat is Senior Editor Indrani Roy, a long-time watcher of Bengal and Mamata politics.
After the launch of National Counter Terror Centre was put on hold due to protests by non-Congress ruled states, chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Orissa on Tuesday trained their guns again at the Centre by opposing the proposed amendment to the Railway Protection Force Act.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram during his four-day visit to United States to boost \n\nsecurity co-operation, met with Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairwoman of the US Senate's \nSelect Committee on Intelligence, in Washington on Wednesday.
As many as seven chief ministers have joined a chorus of disapproval against the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, which the Union government notified earlier this month. The United Progressive Alliance has argued that the action flows from powers already in the existing unlawful activities statute.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday chose to remain ambivalent on his government's stand on the National Counter Terrorism Centre, but asserted that the anti-terror squad in UP is already doing a good job in tackling terrorism.
Pakistan-based Al Qaeda's senior leadership remained committed to acquiring weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons, a top Obama administration official said.
Security experts are blaming Home Minister P Chidambaram for his handling of the important NCTC legislation. They now believe that the legislation, which has come under scathing attack from various states, would eventually lack any sting. Vicky Nanjappa reports
After the controversy surrounding the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa have trained their guns on the central government again by opposing a proposed amendment to the Railway Protection Force. They have joined Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to instruct the railway ministry not to proceed with the move.
Seeking support for the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Thursday said all political parties and state governments should come together for a collective response to fight against the challenge of terrorism.
Four policemen were injured in an attack by Naxals, who first triggered a landmine blast and then opened fire at them in Sukma district in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh during their 'Bharat Bandh' on Wednesday, police said.
In a move apparently aimed at mollifying states, the Union home ministry has proposed to take out the National Counter Terrorism Centre from the ambit of the Intelligence Bureau, a sticky point over which the anti-terror body has been stuck.
The controversial National Counter Terrorism Centre, a pet project of former Home Minister P Chidambaram, may take some more time to actualise with his successor Sushilkumar Shinde directing ministry officials to wait till Parliament approves the proposed amendment to the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Faced with frequent incidents of abduction, the Centre on Monday said if the controversial National Counter Terrorism Centre comes into existence, it would help in the long run to deal with hostage situations in a better way.
The provisions of the proposed amendments to the BSF Act 'smack of a desire to smuggle in a mechanism inspired by the same goals as those behind the setting up of an operations division in the NCTC, through the back door', Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa wrote to the PM
The revised plan for controversial National Counter-Terrorism Centre has been recalled from the Cabinet Secretariat after Sushilkumar Shinde took charge as home minister for a thorough review by him.
A day after walking out of the National Development Council meet, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday said renewed moves were being made to set up the National Counter Terrorism Centre despite opposition to it by several states.
Opposing the setting up of anti-terror body National Counter Terrorism Centre in its present form, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Wednesday said it violates the federal structure of the Constitution. The chief minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state said that the NCTC should be ratified by Parliament to make it responsible and answerable to people.
Nitish Kumar, who was clicked shaking hands with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at the National Counter Terrorism Centre conference, on Sunday came under attack from Rashtraiya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, who said the Bihar chief minister stands "thoroughly exposed" over his "secular facade".
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances