Buddhadeb lambasts Chidambaram's remark

Virtually asking Chidambaram to mind his own business, Bhattacharjee said: “What is the situation in the country now? He should perform his own duty. I am carrying out my responsibilities.”

“I know the responsibility is mine no doubt, but the language is not good. It (buck) is slang. Such language is not used by politicians,” the chief minister told media persons at the state secretariat when asked for his response to Chidambaram’s comment.  

“Do you know poker? If you follow it, then you will understand. I never find such words in politicians’ speeches,” he said.

During a visit to the state’s Maoist-hit Lalgarh region Sunday, Chidambaram said he had asked Bhattacharjee to curb inter-party clashes in the state, as otherwise it would indicate a law and order problem.

His comment followed persistent accusations from the Trinamool Congress, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s second largest partner and the main opposition force in the state, regarding the law and order situation and alleged atrocities by cadres of West Bengal’s ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

“Eventually the buck stops at the chief minister’s table. It should not go beyond his table. If the buck goes beyond the chief minister’s table, then that shows the failure of the state,” Chidambaram said.