Sushil Kumar Shinde to discuss NCTC with Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalithaa

NEW DELHI: Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde says he will speak separately to chief ministers Narendra Modi, Jayalalithaa and Mamata Bannerjee on the controversial National Counter Terrorism Centre to remove their apprehensions on the crucial project.

Former home minister P Chidambaram's pet project has been on the back-burner for several months, after various chief ministers objected to NCTC 'impinging on the federal structure' with rights like exclusive anti-terror operations in any state.

Shinde however told ET that the project had not been pushed into cold storage. "NCTC is a very important project of my predecessor...I have certainly not put it on the backburner.

It is a crucial project to counter terror and money has been sanctioned for it," Shinde said. He added that he was planning to soon speak individually to each chief minister who has been opposed to the project.

"Yesterday, I have asked the home secretary to give me a detailed report on NCTC objections of each chief minister like Narendra Modi and Mamata Bannerjee.

I will then speak to them to sort out problems they have with the NCTC project," Shinde told ET. Government sources, however, say Shinde only plans to start these consultations on NCTC early next year after getting the Unlawful Activities Prevention (Amendment) Bill passed in the winter session of Parliament.

All chief ministers have already given their written consent to the UAPA amendment bill, a home ministry source said.

The lack of any consultation with chief ministers on NCTC, when it was unveiled, earlier this year by Chidambaram, was blamed as a major reason by most states opposing the project. Chief ministers like Modi, Bannerjee, Naveen Patnaik, Jayalalithaa and Shivraj Singh Chauhan shot off letters to the prime minister, prompting the Centre to put the project on hold.