Get your state in order, PC tells Buddha

It was a day when West Bengal politics played out in full swing in New Delhi, with both chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and a Trinamool Congress delegation meeting home minister P Chidambaram over the Maoist issue.

It was a day when West Bengal politics played out in full swing in New Delhi, with both chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and a Trinamool Congress delegation meeting home minister P Chidambaram over the Maoist issue.

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Bhattacharjee, who also held a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said his government would take steps to disarm all armed groups in the state but urged the home minister to tell UPA ally Trinamool to end their "open and direct support" to the Maoists.

Chidambaram told Bhattacharjee that armed cadre could not be allowed to take law into their hands and must be disarmed.

"The chief minister assured the home minister that he understood the seriousness of the concern expressed ... and would take appropriate steps," a ministry spokesman said.

The CM carried a detailed dossier to the meeting with Chidambaram, party sources said.

The home minister in turn shared intelligence available on Maoists and drew the CM's attention to the Netai incident in which seven persons were killed allegedly by armed CPI(M) cadres on January 7.

Addressing a press conference, Bhattacharjee said, "I agreed with the home minister that the recent incident in Netai village was very unfortunate. We will ensure that such incidents do not recur." But he attacked Trinamool for associating with the Maoists.

The CM alleged that Susanta Ghosh, CPM state committee member and minister in charge of development in Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore was in the Maoists' hit-list, who are being actively supported by Trinamool MP from Tamluk, Subhendu Adhikary.

He said the state as well as central intelligence agencies had evidence of the nexus between the Trinamool and Maoists.

A report of the state home department on law and order situation, inputs from the state intelligence branch on Maoist operations and extracts of confessional statements made by key Naxal operatives were also handed over to Chidambaram.

Trinamool MPs also met the home minister after they held a dharna protesting the "excesses" by joint security forces and demanding their withdrawal in the state.

(with inputs from Kolkata)