Ahmedabad: Narendra Modi has written to the Prime Minister opposing an amendment to give the Railway Protection Force (RPF) more teeth, terming the railways’ move a “blow to the federal structure of India”.

The stance puts him on collision course with the railway ministry led by Trinamul, whose leader Mamata Banerjee has been on the same side of the fence as the Gujarat chief minister in opposing the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) over fears it undermined states’ powers.

“The proposed amendment bill, which is intended to confer the powers of state police officers to the RPF, is a blow to the federal structure of India and an unwarranted violation of the constitutional spirit. It also usurps power of state legislatures,” Modi has said in the letter sent to Manmohan Singh recently.

The refrain about the “federal structure” echoes the cries of “threat to federalism” from Modi, Mamata and other non-Congress chief ministers when they railed against the NCTC, a brainchild of P Chidambaram. Ironically, the Gujarat chief minister’s letter came to light on a day Mamata was in Delhi lobbying against the proposed NCTC.

Asked about Modi’s objections to the RPF amendment, the Bengal chief minister appeared to suggest that she hadn’t heard about the row. “What’s RPF? What about RPF? I don’t know,” Mamata, railway minister till colleague Dinesh Trivedi took over from her last year, said when asked about the RPF plan.

The railway ministry has argued that the utility should be treated as an independent entity whose properties and passengers need to be protected better by giving the RPF powers of investigation and arrests, similar to that of the government railway police (GRP) in states.

But Modi dismissed the contention. “The amendment says trains run through several states and passengers find it difficult to lodge complaints with the GRP as many jurisdictions are often involved. The argument is ridiculous.”

“Even the state police face similar dilemmas when they have to carry out investigation in other states. Therefore, such a lame justification to take away the powers of the GRP and interfere with the powers of the state government is uncalled for,” Modi added. The proposed amendment to the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957, seeks to confer powers of a police officer to an RPF personnel. Modi has argued that the planned change amounts to a breach of the Constitution, under which “public order” and “police” are state subjects.

Modi cautioned the Prime Minister that if the amendment went ahead, it would open a Pandora’s Box and prompt other central forces, such as the CISF that is in charge of security at airports and central public-sector companies, to seek similar “police powers”.

-The Telegraph