Sticking to her guns, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Wednesday said the Centre cannot proceed on the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) without consulting Chief Ministers.
“We don’t think anything will proceed without consultations with the Chief Ministers and we will continue to press for what we feel is our legitimate right,” she told reporters in Chennai.
Her remarks come a day after the Opposition-sponsored amendments to NCTC were defeated in the Rajya Sabha with outside support of SP and BSP besides UPA constituent Trinamool Congress coming to the rescue of Central government.
ADVERTISEMENT
Holding that the constitution of NCTC was an attack on the federal structure of the Constitutional framework, Ms. Jayalalithaa had earlier written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that Centre should have initiated a consultation process through a formal communication.
Joining the chorus of Chief Ministers including Naveen Patnaik (Odisha) and Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) in opposing the Centre in this issue, she had contended that NCTC will be a “non-starter” without states’ involvement.
On the issue of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, which received the state cabinet’s go ahead on Monday, she said she had given a detailed statement, holding it was safe. The local population is opposing the plant citing safety concerns.
ADVERTISEMENT
She recalled her government announcing Rs 500 crore special development package for the locals to be invested on infrastructure and other amenities for fishermen.