After NCTC, Nitish opposes RPF Act

BHUBENESWAR: After opposing the decision of the Union government to have National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) bypassing the state governments, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today opposed another move of the Centre to amend the Railway Protection Force (RPF) Act 1957. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, copies of which were released to the press here, Patnaik said the proposed amendment of the Act was in confl ict with article 246 of the Constitution of India and a clear infringement on the powers of the state. The chief minister said the Act which had already been approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Law and Justice, was against the federal structure of the Constitution. The ministry of Railways, Patnaik said, should be asked not to proceed further with the matter as the public order and police are state subjects and taking up any amendment on the subject under entry 22, 30, 93 of the Union list and entry 2 of the concurrent list without consulting the state government was a clear infringement of the powers of the state. ‘I am constrained to point out that the Centre is bent upon taking one step after another that are in confl ict with the federal structure of the country and against the interest of the people of the country,’ Patnaik said. Patnaik has joined his counterparts in non-Congress ruled states in vehemently opposing the powers delegated to the proposed NCTC, describing the action of the Union government as clear infringement of the federal structure of the state. The issue snowballed into a major controversy with chief ministers of ten states opposing the NCTC, forcing the Centre to postpone its notifi cation to March 1 and decided to hold consultation with state Chief Secretaries and Director General of Police on the matter. Raising his voice again on the proposed amendment in the RPF Act 1957, the Odisha chief minister further said the proposed amendment seeks to provide powers to the police offi cer and RPF personnel. This was a violation of the provisions of the Indian Police Act 1861. Patnaik said the justifi cation being advanced by the Ministry of railways for conferring powers of police offi cer and RPF personnel so that they could conduct investigation and make arrest was not at all convincing. The chief minister said railway tracks are not outside the jurisdiction of the state through which they run and similar arguments could be put forth by other establishments such as the CISF who were in charge of airports and other industrial undertakings in the state. Patnaik has also communicated his strong objection to the RPF Act 1957 to the Minister of Railways.