[url="http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Why+was+Narayanan+ousted?&artid=BMFoQx597h4=&SectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&MainSectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&SEO=M+K+Narayanan,+P+Chidambaram,+K+Chandrasekhara+Rao&SectionName=pWehHe7IsSU="]Why was Narayanan ousted?[/url]
Quote:Manan Kumar
First Published : 19 Jan 2010 01:29:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 19 Jan 2010 09:46:13 AM IST
NEW DELHI: The abrupt ouster of M K Narayanan from the powerful post of National Security Adviser has, it seems, more to it than just the sharp differences which emerged during his day-to-day functioning with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
There are three reasons to which sources attribute Narayananââ¬â¢s being shunted out to West Bengal as Governor.
The first is that he goofed up on the Telangana issue, misreading the spread of the agitation and drawing Chidambaram to commit a blunder by announcing initiation of the process for the formation of Telangana. The sources said Narayanan relied a bit too much on the judgment of a senior IB man who was sent from New Delhi to AP to gauge the situation, as analysis later revealed that the agitation could have been dealt with at the state level despite TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Raoââ¬â¢s fast unto death.
The second reason has to do with the approach taken with Pakistan after 26/11. While Narayanan was adamant about not having a dialogue with Pakistan unless there was substantial progress on the 26/11 probe, the political view within the government, especially because of US pressure, was to engage Pakistan and get on with the peace process.
The differences became more obvious when the government moved on with its agenda and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed the joint statement at Sharm el-Sheikh.
Finally, Narayanan was dead against Chidambaramââ¬â¢s idea of an over-reaching National Counter Terrorism Centre that would bring the National Technical Research Organisation, Joint Intelligence Committee, Aviation Research Centre and RAW under its command. The move would have clipped Narayananââ¬â¢s wings as he had a major say in the functioning of these agencies.