New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee, a key UPA ally and chief of the Trinamool Congress, who along with a few other chief ministers had forced the Centre to convene a special meeting on National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), will skip Monday’s crucial meet.

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra will instead attend the meeting.

Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Odisha Mamata Banerjee, J Jayalalitha and Naveen Patnaik, along with a few others, had forced the Central government to convene a special meeting of CMs on May 5 to discuss the NCTC by saying the April 16 conclave would not have enough time and opportunity to discuss the controversial issue and hence a separate session was required for it.

They have been opposing the setting up of NCTC claiming the proposed anti-terror hub would infringe on the states' powers and hurt country's federal structure.

The April 16 meeting will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister and will focus on strengthening counter-terrorism and intelligence capabilities and strengthening border and coastal security.

Cross-border terrorism, infiltration from across the border to Jammu and Kashmir, activities of Pakistan-based terror outfits and insurgency in the Northeast, combating economic offences, especially counterfeit currency notes, will also come up for detailed deliberations.

A separate session on Left-wing extremism will also be held which is expected to be attended by at least eight chief ministers, barring that of West Bengal.