Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday sounded confident that the differences between non-Congress ruled states and the centre over setting up of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) will be resolved at the May 5 meeting of chief ministers.

He also said that before the May 5 meet, the agency’s standard operating procedures (SOP) will be circulated among all chief ministers.

At a press conference here a day after the chief ministers conference on internal security was held, Chidambaram also disagreed with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s assessment that the centre was causing “distrust” with states by its actions.

“We are circulating the SOPs draft to the state chief ministers before the May 5 meeting (on NCTC) and we will resolve the differences with some states and the centre,” Chidambaram said to a question.

“A vast number of states have no distrust with the centre,” he said when asked to react to the comments of Modi.

To a query if the centre was willing to back off from internal security duties in Maoist-infested states if the states took up more responsibility, Chidambaram said this is what the centre has been talking about all along.

“If state governments are willing to take up more responsibility and raise more forces to fight Maoists in their respective states, then the central paramilitary and police forces can be withdrawn. The central police forces are an interception force and not for deploying yearlong. They are to be deployed for short periods and then pulled back,” he said.

Asked to comment on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s comments that the state governments are being reduced to municipal corporations by the centre on financial dependence, Chidambaram said it was the view of one chief minister.

He also noted that the chief ministers’ conference had nothing to do with the hostage crisis that was playing out in Odisha.