Chidambaram strongly favours setting up of NCTC

NEW DELHI: Advocating the need for setting up anti-terror hub NCTC, Home Minister P Chidambaram said today terrorists do not recognise boundaries and the Centre and State governments have to work together to make the country safe and secure.

Addressing the Chief Ministers' conference on the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), which is facing stiff opposition from non-Congress Chief Ministers, including UPA ally Mamata Banerjee, Chidambaram said terrorists do not recognise boundaries of countries or states and terrorist threats are taking new dimension going beyond the physical space.

"We have to work together. Working together - State Governments and the Central Government working together, the Opposition and the Treasury working together, civil society organisations and Government institutions working together - I am confident we can make the country more safe and more secure," he said.

The Home Minister said the NCTC will be an important pillar of new security architecture considering the fact that under the Constitution, countering terrorism is a shared responsibility of the Central government and the State Governments.

"That terrorists do not recognise boundaries between countries or boundaries between States belonging to a country; That many terrorist organisations have foot prints in several countries and have the capacity to commit terrorist acts across borders or boundaries; that human resources alone are not sufficient to counter terrorism; technology is the key weapon in this conflict," he said.