NEW DELHI, Dec 10:
A breakthrough is expected soon on the National Counter Terrorism Center for which Government is carrying out talks with the chief ministers opposing it, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said today.
“I have been talking to the Chief Ministers. Soon you will get result,” Shinde said at a press conference here.
Following strong protests from Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Naveen Patnaik (Odisha), J Jayalalitha (Tamil Nadu) and Narendra Modi (Gujarat), the Government had deferred the operationalisation of NCTC, a pet project of former Home Minister P Chidambaram, in March.
Shinde said he had talked to Banerjee on NCTC immediately after he took over as Home Minister in August and he would talk to Modi after some days as the latter is now busy with electioneering in Gujarat.
“Narendra Modi is very busy with election. It is not proper to talk to him now. I had talked to Mamata Banerjee when I had visited West Bengal….When I went through the records I have found that they have some reservations. Leaving those reservations, I think every State is agreed (to NCTC),” he said.
Asked about his reported remarks in Gujarat yesterday which suggested that senior IPS officer Syed Asif Ibrahim was appointed as Chief of Intelligence Bureau because he was from minority community, Shinde clarified: “He is an able person. I only said that he is from minority community. That’s all”.
On what the Government would do to Samajwadi Party’s strong opposition to the proposed Bill on reservation in promotion for SC/ST, Shinde, who is also leader of Lok Sabha, said they would discuss the issue with SP.
“The stand of our Government is very clear. We are clear that the Bill must come. That is why we are bringing it. We will discuss (with SP),” he said. (AGENCIES)
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