The fact that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has met only on a few occasions – to approve large defence acquisitions – since the Narendra Modi government assumed power, indicates this regime’s disregard for institutions vital for collective decision making, especially during crisis situations.
While the CCS did not meet in the course of the three days when a battalion-strong group of soldiers muddled their way before finally eliminating six terrorists in the Pathankot air force base, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval alone took operational decisions, choosing to wear a general’s hat rather than an advisor’s.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee was not instructed to convene to strategise all possible means to engage and liquidate the terrorists in the shortest possible time.
Earlier, the CCS did not meet during the July 2015 terror strike in Dinanagar in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. It was also dispensed with during the Pathankot attack, which is the gravest national security challenge the Modi government has encountered in the 19 months it has been in power.