Taking responsibility for the worst Naxalite carnage on security forces, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday offered his resignation from the Cabinet to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who rejected it.
"The Home Minister gave it (his resignation) in writing day before yesterday. The Prime Minister rejected it," a PMO spokesman said , shortly after the minister gave enough hints that he had offered to resign.
Chidambaram, who had come under attack from Left parties for telling West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya that "the buck stops with you" on ending political violence in the state, said at a CRPF function on Friday morning that "I have been asked directly or indirectly where the back stops for what happened in Dantewada.
"I have no no hesitation saying the buck stops at my desk. I accept full responsibility for what happened in Dantewada".
64-year-old Chidambaram is also believed to have conveyed his intention to quit to Congress President Sonia Gandhi but there was no no official word on that.
Speaking at the "Valour Day" function of the CRPF, the Minister said that on Wednesday immediately on his return from Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, where 75 CRPF personnel were killed by Maoists, he called on the Prime Minister and gave him in writing that that "I accept full responsibility for what happened (in Dantewada)".
Tantalisingly he left everyone guessing when he said "And I think I will stop there. Let me not not elaborate."
Soon speculation mounted that Chidambaram may have given his resignation letter to Prime Minister shortly after he came back from Jagdalpur where he had paid his last respects to the slain security personnel.
Chidambaram also refused to oblige reporters in the Home Ministry when he declined to say whether he had offered resignation in the wake of speculation triggered by his morning speech.
Moments later the PMO announced that the Prime Minister had rejected Chidambaram's resignation given in writing.
In the early '90s, Chidambaram had resigned as Minister of State for Commerce at the time of securities scam when there were reports that his wife had bought shares in a scam-tainted company.
He was taken back into the government by the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao after a Joint Parliamentary Committee that went into the scam gave him a clean chit after finding there was no no wrong doing by him or his family members.
Top brass of the Congress met in New Delhi on Friday evening to discuss the Dantewada naxal attack and Home Minister P Chidambaram's offer of resignation owing moral responsibility for it.
The Congress Core Group, comprising of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party President Sonia Gandhi, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Chidambaram, Defence Minister A K Antony and Political Secretary to Congress President Ahmed Patel attended the meeting.
Earlier at the AICC briefing, Congress backed Chidambaram saying his offer of resignation owning moral responsibility for the attack on the security forces was appreciated and commended by the party.
'The statement by Home Minister to Prime Minister owning full moral responsibility does not need to be commented upon. It is appreciated and commended," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.
The party also came out with a two-pronged approach to control the Maoist menace in their areas of influence.
Singhvi said the Central government will assist the state government in carrying out anti-Naxal operation and regain the territory from their influence.
The second strategy, according to the spokesman, was to address the socio-economic issues of poor people.
"This is to help the state government to restore civil administration and start developmental process like building schools, health centres, roads, providing water and electricity etc," Singhvi said.
The party leader said the Congress believes the "state has legitimate right to deploy security forces to apprehend and neutralise the militants (Maoists)".
Referring to the history of the CPI (Maoists), Singhvi said after 2004, the Left Wing extremists extended their influence to different districts of the country and their avowed aim was to "liberate more and more areas".
He said they have exploited the poverty faced by tribals in the affected districts and that the tribals seem to support them. "But it is fear masquerading as suppport," he said.
Taking a sympathetic view of the tribals, Singhvi said, "the poor tribals are caught with CPI (Maoists) on one hand and ineffective administration on the other".
Referring to the two-pronged strategy of the party, he said "our approach will succeed, must succeed." PTI
