The abduction of two Italian nationals and a ruling BJD legislator by the Maoists in March seems to have taught a few lessons to Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
A strong critic of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Mr Patnaik on Monday appeared to have mellowed a little on the issue and said the consultations with the chief ministers with regard to the creation of the NCTC should bear fruit in their next meeting of the CMs scheduled for the May 5.
Mr Patnaik, however, wanted that federal rights of the states should not be infringed upon.
“The chief minister expressed that the consultations with the chief ministers to address the concerns about the federal rights of the states with regard to the creation of the NCTC have been delayed dangerously and hoped that the issue will get addressed seriously in the meeting scheduled for the May 5,” an official release of the chief minister’s office (CMO) said.
The Orissa CM had earlier not only opposed the creation of NCTC strongly, but also mobilised support of the Telugu Dessam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi against the proposed body.
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CVc seeks full documents for action
Rajnish Sharma
New Delhi, April 16
The Central Vigilance Commission has in a recent letter written to the CBI director, secretaries of key ministries and chief secretaries of all states to send a complete set of documents and evidence along with the request for prosecution sanction to the department of personnel and training and the Union home ministry so that permission can be granted against IAS and IPS officers within the mandatory period of three months.
Similar instructions have been given to other cadre controlling agencies of All-India Services also. In its communication the CVC has stated, “it is often found that such prosecution requests are not accompanied with a set of relied upon documents and evidence due to which the Competent Authorities are not in a position to take a view in such matters.’’ The CVC has also clarified that an extra month can be granted if consultations are required with the attorney-general or any other law officer in the AG’s office.
The state governments too have been given similar instructions since it becomes the competent authority in case the officer is working with the respective state government. The CVC also observed that, “such delays also adversely affect the morale of public servants.’’