The BJP has demanded that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh should call a Chief Ministers’ meeting on setting up of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) to discuss threadbare and ally the fears of the states on the issue.

Senior party leader and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs Venkaiah Naidu sought the Government to put on hold the proposal till consultations were held.

He said wide consultations were needed on the NCTC considering its sensitivity and the federal structure of the country.

Stating that the Centre and states should join together in fight against terrorism, he said the parliamentary standing committee has unanimously opposed setting up of NCTC without taking states into consideration.

Earlier, Home Minister P Chidambaram wrote to 10 Chief Ministers allaying their fears on the issue of NCTC. Chidambaram said that countering terrorism was a shared responsibility. He reminded the states that both Centre and the states had agreed that terrorism was a grave threat to the country and it had to be dealt with collectively.

The Home Minister told the Chief Ministers that the Home Secretary would call a meeting of the State Police Chiefs and the heads of the Anti-Terroist Organisations and forces of the State Governments and discuss in detail the scope and functions of NCTC.

Noting that he will be happy to respond to any further issues that the Chief Ministers might wish to raise, the Home Minister enclosed a three-page note on the objective, structure and power of the NCTC.

The note describes that the powers to search and arrest as the bare minimum powers that will be necessary for a body mandated to deal with counter terrorism.