West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Wednesday slammed Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's assessment on law and order situation in the state, while Trinamool demanded his resignation claiming that he was silent on the existence of armed Communist Party of India-Marxist camps.
"Your assessment of the situation in the state is surprising and is far from an impartial overview of the situation," Bhattacharjee said in his reply to the Home Minister's letter.
The chief minister took exception to use of the word 'harmad'. "I strongly object to your using the word 'harmad' to describe CPI-M workers without knowing the actual meaning of this 'nasty' word coined by Trinamool Congress leaders."
Bhattacharjee, however, also said, "I am trying to disarm and demobilise all armed groups engaged in violence in some pockets in the state."
Trinamool supreme Mamata Banerjee, on the other hand, accused Bhattacharjee of skirting the main issue of the existence of armed CPI-M camps and demanded his resignation since the Home Minister's letter was tantamount to application of Article 355.
"Chidambaram's letter is serious, but the chief minister's reply is casual and vague. There is no mention in the reply on the main issue of existence of CPI-M armed camps. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee should quit as he has been brazenly violating the Constitution and unleashing state-sponsored terrorism in the name of curbing Maoists," she told mediapersons hours after the chief minister's reply was released to the press.
She also defended the use of the word 'harmard' in Chidambaram's letter in a reference to CPI-M armed camps.
"They are of course harmards. Harmards are a type of mercenaries who move about with AK-47, stenguns, high explosives and lethal weapons. How else will I describe them?"
Bhattacharjee claimed that Trinamool Congress which earlier had "secret contacts" with Maoist leaders and outfits was now openly organising meetings with them.
He also sought to correct Chidambaram on the figures cited by him on the fallout of the violence, saying "69 CPI-M workers were killed in political clashes and 723 injured, while 32 Trinamool Congress activists were killed and 601 injured. One Congress supporter was killed and 111 were injured."
The Trinamool supremo, however, rubbished her party's links with Maoists and alleged that "the chief minister himself is a Maoist leader and is acting as a mask of the Maoists."
Stating that Chidamabaram had only advised the state to follow raj dharma, she said when there was "state-sponsored terrorism" and violation of constitutional and fundamental rights of the people, "it is time to ask the state government to follow raj dharma."
"The spirit of Chidambaram's letter is to advise the government to follow raj dharma. The Centre has acted within the parameters of the Constitution," she said. Similar advice was given by the Centre to the Gujarat government during the riots there, she pointed out.
