Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to involve all the Chief Ministers in defining the country's commitments for climate change before submitting the papers for international negotiations.
Quoting the current reports about the stand taken by India at the COP-16 summit on climate change at Cancun, Mexico, Mr. Modi, in a letter to Dr. Singh on Tuesday, said India's stand on domestic climate actions as reported from the summit was contrary to the assurances given by the Centre to Parliament. He said it was not only a compromise on national sovereignty, but it also raised questions about the federal structure of the country.
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Mr. Modi pointed out that about 70 to 80 per cent of the mitigation and adaptation works on climate change were being implemented at the State levels and regretted that so far no mechanism had been put in place to involve the Chief Ministers in a consultative process before deciding on India's national approach to climate change. “This is contrary to the true spirit of India's federal system,” he said.
The State police had been put on very high alert following WikiLeak's revelations about a possible terrorist attack on Mr. Modi, said Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) Sudhir Sinha. Though the revelations were about the Lashkar-e-Taiba plans for 2009, the threats to Mr. Modi's life had been received several times and were still alive. He said the State Anti-Terrorism Squad had been entrusted with the task of investigating the possible Lashkar plans and take remedial measures.