I have had the privilege of attending various high power meetings over the past few years, such as those of the National Development Council and Inter State Coordination Committee; as well as those on issues such as inflation, internal security, the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and so on. Tangible outcomes from the same however, seem to be precious little. Meetings and conferences play a critical role in our coming together as a nation to chart the way forward. They must, thus, be zealously guarded from becoming mere fora for academic exchanges...
If we were to go purely by the agenda before us, it would seem easy to misjudge this meeting to be a limited "police review" as opposed to a comprehensive relook of the nation's internal security situation. For instance, does a move as self-evident as "distributing detection kits at police station levels" need to be decided by a prime minister-chief minister conference? Is the central government really oblivious to the fact that most districts across most states already have "separate district crime branches"? Or is the age-old concept of "community policing" really the most innovative and strategic of responses that we can come up with to decide on at this high forum?
Is this the level of discussion we are aspiring for today? Are these not matters best left to the states, or in fact even lower, district levels?
Now more than ever before, we need firm political will to unite as a nation and its leaders, for charting a clear and decisive direction on this critical matter of internal security. We cannot and must not aspire for anything less. The internal security situation in the country has unfortunately deteriorated further since we met last year. According to me, the situation today is worse than ever before. Not only do we continue to be vulnerable to the threats posed by cross-border terrorism and left-wing extremism; we are also becoming increasingly susceptible to newer forms of security threats such as cyber attacks, narco-terrorism and terror financing.
It is disheartening to see terrorists and Maoists striking us with such impunity; while that the government, and nation at large, remain mute spectators to macabre death and destruction. It is further disheartening that in times of crisis when the Union government is expected to lead from the front, it chooses to be a disinterested spectator believing that its role ends with generating and passing on intelligence inputs to the states.
Even after the dastardly attack on Mumbai on 26/11, there has been no change on the ground. I would like to draw the attention of this august gathering to the fact that the Union government is quick enough to recognise the need for a dedicated law for tackling the menace of match-fixing in sports, but the same government fails to see the need for a dedicated law against terrorism.
I firmly believe that we will not be able to fight the menace of terrorism and left-wing extremism without an anti-terror law. Unfortunately, we are not going to have such an anti-terror law, till we learn to put our national security issues above political considerations dictated by vote bank politics. The nation will sadly have to wait till this realisation dawns upon the powers that be.
In the last conference, several chief ministers, including myself, had expressed our concern over the modernisation of police force (MPF) in the context of funding. We had made a special request for 100 per cent central funding of the MPF scheme and not burdening the state government with a 25 per cent share. It almost appears as if the states are being punished for making such a request; with the Union government instead of agreeing to the same, choosing to increase the state share from 25 per cent to 40 per cent... We have strong reservations about the structure and functioning proposed in the NCTC (Organisation, Functions, Powers and Duties) Order, 2013. It is not clear how big it is going to be, what forces are going to comprise it, how exactly it is going to function and which statute will it derive its powers from...
Further, moving the MAC from within the Intelligence Bureau to the proposed NCTC will end up weakening it even as it appeared that it was taking some concrete shape. The proposed NCTC will be just another superstructure in the maze of institutions already existing. The proposed structure of NCTC is not in congruence with the principles of federalism and the clear division of powers between the Union and the states as envisaged under the Constitution as it essentially tries to create a "federal police", a concept totally alien to our country. I fear that it will be another institution of the Centre for political misuse against opposition ruled states.
I am slightly worried about the last-minute circulation of proposed order on NCTC. The fact that it is on the agenda and gets a passing mention should not be construed as a consultation with the states much less an arriving of consensus on this issue.
In fact, the creation of any new institution or organisation of this nature should be done only after having a complete unanimity among the Centre and the states. The inability of the Centre to coordinate efforts with the state to achieve consensus on such issues emanates from the unwillingness on its part to recognise the states as equal partners in handling issues related to internal security. It also exhibits a strong sense of one-upmanship and a contempt for the constitutional division of powers.
It is my humble suggestion that instead of creating a new institution in the form of NCTC, we should strengthen MAC, and also undertake a massive drive for augmenting the operational abilities of the existing security forces, both central and those belonging to the states. Multiplicity of agencies will only create more confusions and ineffectiveness at the field level.
Excerpts from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the conference of chief ministers and home ministers on internal security in New Delhi on June 6