Buddhadeb to meet Chidambaram, PM on January 19

Kolkata, Jan 14 (PTI) The long-awaited meeting betweenUnion Home Minister P Chidambaram and West Bengal ChiefMinister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to discuss law and order inin the state would take place on January 19 in Delhi.

The chief minister would also meet Prime MinisterManmohan Singh on the same day, sources in the chiefminister''s secretariat said today.

''''The chief minister is going to Delhi on January 18 tomeet the Union Home Minister and Prime Minister the nextday,'''' the sources said.

The Union Home Minister had sent a letter to the chiefminister calling him to Delhi to discuss the law and ordersituation following the January seven killing of seven personsallegedly by CPI-M cadres at Netai village in Maoist-affectedWest Midnapore district.

Chidamabaram had requested Bhattacharjee to ''rescheduleall appointments'' and visit Delhi ''immediately'' and pointed tothe virtual collapse of law and order in some parts of thestate.

He questioned the role of central forces in anti-Maoistoperations when CPI-M armed cadres took it upon themselves theduties of law and order

In his reply to the letter, the chief minister objectedto the use of a word ''harmad'' in the letter to describe CPI-Mworkers.

The chief minister is scheduled to return to Kolkata fromDelhi on January 19 evening because of a state cabinet meetingthe next day, the sources said.

Earlier, the chief minister had said that he would beable to visit Delhi only in the third week of this month.