He came, he saw and he passed “the buck” around, not once but at least four times.
Union home minister P. Chidambaram today revealed that he had told Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to take “stern measures” to maintain law and order and that the “buck stops at the chief minister’s table”.
“My meeting yesterday with the chief minister was not only concerning the Maoist problem, it was about other issues as well. It was a good meeting. There are different perceptions, I have conveyed my perception to the chief minister, I have requested him to take stern measures so that law and order is maintained in the state of West Bengal,” Chidambaram told a media conference in Lalgarh today.
Then the buck started rolling.
“Eventually the buck stops at the chief minister’s table, it should not go beyond the chief minister’s table, if the buck goes beyond the chief minister’s table, then it is a failure of the administrative machinery. I have requested him to take stern measures so that law and order is maintained,” Chidambaram said, standing near a helipad.
Two bucks down, two more to go.
“I have given him (the chief minister) my view, I have told him that the buck stops with you and you must ensure that the buck stops with the DM (district magistrate) or with the SHO (station house officer)…” the home minister said while referring to political violence in places like Burdwan’s Mangalkot.
Neither the advice to take stern measures on law and order nor the Americanism is expected to impart any enlightening insight to the chief minister on how to run the state but the visiting Union minister’s attention-grabbing sound bites appear to have served two purposes.
One, the Union minister has made amends for not visiting Burdwan, the political clash-hit district his allies wanted him to tour, because of inclement weather that delayed his arrival in Bengal.
Two, by repeatedly stressing that the buck stops with the chief minister, the home minister has indirectly washed his hands of local law and order issues — a state subject and a minefield the Centre is keen to steer clear of.
Chidambaram has said what his allies such as the Trinamul Congress wanted to hear but has left enough room for manoeuvre so that his rivals cannot dub him partisan.
Among the clash-hit places Chidambaram mentioned was Khejuri, the gateway to Nandigram where Trinamul supporters are accused of preventing CPM families and panchayat representatives from returning to their homes.
The Union minister did betray his unfamiliarity with at least one place name in Bengal, mispronouncing Hooghly’s Khanakul as Khatrakul, but it is unlikely he would have mentioned Khejuri without gauging its significance.
“The chief minister had identified to me half-a-dozen police stations — Mangalkot, Nanoor, Khatrakul (Khanakul), Canning and Khejuri… I can’t remember all of them right away… where the law and order is ineffective,” Chidambaram said.
Not that Chidambaram spared the CPM-led government. “I think it is the duty of the state government to ensure that the inter-party clashes come to an end. I was very unhappy with what had happened in Mangalkot of Burdwan,” he added.
Trinamul leader Mamata Banerjee, who was watching the media conference on television at home, said she would have been happier had Chidambaram let loose a few more volleys.
“Chidambaramji said little about the state’s law and order situation. He should have said more because there is no let-up in the CPM’s terror. The situation has come to such a pass in Bengal that the state warrants President’s rule 10 times over,” she said before leaving for Delhi. By then, Chidambaram had also returned to the capital.
The chief minister did not respond publicly today. The CPM was subdued, with state unit chief Biman Bose saying: “Chidambaram does not know the ground reality.”
