Bhubaneshwar:
Naveen Patnaik, chief minister of Odisha, has written to the Prime Minister once again accusing the Centre of trespassing on state turf. This time around, Mr Patnaik has objected to an amendment to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) Act, which, if enacted, would violate the principles of federalism, he claims. "I am constrained to point out that the Government of India is bent upon taking one step after another that is in conflict with the federal structure of the country and is against the interest of the people of this nation," Mr Patnaik has written.
(Read the entire letter)Mr Patnaik's stand has been seconded by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today who has also written to the PM with her protest. Ms Jayalalithaa in her letter said that amendment is an "attempt by the Centre to usurp powers of states."
She asked the the PM to drop proposed changes to Railway Force Act, saying "providing powers of police to Railway Police Force (RDF) personnel violates the Police act."
The objections from Ms Jayalalithaa and Mr Patnaik place them indirectly against Mamata Banerjee, since the Railways Ministry is assigned to Dinesh Trivedi of her party.
Mr Patnaik, Ms Jayalalithaa and Ms Banerjee recently headlined a campaign that forced the Centre to suspend its plans for a new anti-terror agency called the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC). Mr Patnaik succeeded in rallying around every chief minister of a non-Congress government together; they said the powers being given to the NCTC encroached upon the rights of states to handle law and order. The NCTC, meant to become operational on March 1, has been put on hold till the Home Ministry concludes consultations with state governments.
Mr Patnaik says that the amendment the Centre is considering to the Railways Act will give police officer-like powers to members of the Railways Protection Force or RPF. "The justification being advanced by the Ministry of Railways for conferring powers of police officers on the RPF personnel so that they can conduct investigations and make arrests is not at all convincing," Mr Patnaik said.
His criticism stresses heavily on the fact that state governments have not been consulted about the proposed amendment. The Railways Ministry is assigned to Dinesh Trivedi of Ms Banerjee's party, the Trinamool Congress.
"It is understood that the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India have already approved the proposal of the Railway Ministry," Mr Patnaik said in his letter.
Stating that the railway tracks were not outside the jurisdiction of the states through which they run, Mr Patnaik said that similar arguments could be advanced by other establishments such as the Central Industrial Security Force, who are in charge of protecting airports, industrial undertakings and other vital installations.