P CHIDAMBARAM

This is a letter published in the Statesman Kolkata on the 10th of April 2010 in which the coorespondent waxes vitriolic on P Chidambaram. I rose to the defence of our Home Minister in a letter published today.
 First the correspondent's letter and then my reply.


Where does the buck stop now?


SIR, ~ P Chidambaram met the media at Lalgarh and blamed Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee only to please the Opposition in West Bengal. Perhaps he spoke a little too soon. Ironically enough, the buck has moved in the direction of the union home minister with the killing of 76 CRPF personnel by the Maoists in Chhattisgarh.


Mr Chidambaram is a Harvard-educated lawyer and a master in sophistry. He had taken up the legal cudgels for Enron in India. Against the backdrop of the recent tragedy one is inclined to ask: “Where does the buck stop now, Mr Home Minister?” The country is waiting to learn.


Yours, etc., Indrajit Sen, Kolkata, 8 April.











In safe hands


SIR - Indrajit Sen’s letter ‘Where does the buck stop now?’ in today’s edition reminds me of Byron’s famous words: “A man must serve his time to every trade. Save censure ~ critics all are readymade’. Our Home Minister had the grace and decency to own up to his responsibility for the Dantewada massacre of the CRPF jawans. He had offered to resign. How often do we come across a minister, whether at the Centre or in the states, who is willing to stand up and be counted? Two incidents come readily to mind: the killings at Nandigram and more recently the fire at Stephen Court?


Mr Chidambaram is privy to many confidential reports. As a lawyer he is surely aware of the possible impact of his statements. He does not play to the gallery, as claimed by Mr Sen. We can rest assured that the country’s internal security is in safe hands, a point which even Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee concedes.