Naveen speaks to Jaya on terrorism centre

BHUBANESWAR: A day after seeking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention into ‘infringement’ of federal rights of states by the Centre, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday launched a campaign against the power of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).Naveen has requested Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa to oppose such a unilateral and authoritarian move that infringes the legitimate jurisdiction of the states, a release here said.Naveen spoke to Jayalalithaa regarding  vesting of wide ranging powers on the NCTC without prior consultation with the states. The Chief Minister, who had written to  Singh on Monday on this subject, has said this is an infringement of the federal structure of the states as enshrined in the Constitution, the release added.The Chief Minister, who had spoken to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the subject, talked to her again on Tuesday. Naveen also apprised former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu of the Congress-led UPA government’s attempt to infringe the federal rights of the states and requested the Telugu Desam Party leader to take action on this matter. The BJD supremo’s efforts to unite non-Congress chief ministers and leaders two years ahead of the general election is viewed as a move to form a new front without BJP and Left parties. Though Naveen spoke to Banerjee and Jayalalithaa, he was yet to take up the matter with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, an important member of the NDA. “The state governments must resist this blatant encroachment on federal powers of our people and our governments,” Naveen wrote to Jayalalithaa on Tuesday.