Time not for blame game: Bengal CM

Emphasis should be on collective action to deal with Naxals.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, recently targeted by home minister P Chidambaram, today said this was no time for blame game and called for 'collective responsibility' in tackling Naxal menace in the wake of the Dantewada massacre.

Describing the Naxal situation as very serious, a conciliatory Bhattacharjee said, “This is not the time to blame anyone. This is not the time to blame each other. It is time to work together. It’s a collective responsibility and we must work collectivelyover inter-party clashes,” Bhattacharjee said this when asked for his response to Chidambaram accepting full responsibility earlier in the day for the Naxal attack in Chattisgarh in which 75 CRPF men were killed and for the Union home minister’s remark that the ‘buck stops’ at his desk.

“Until and unless we work collectively it is very difficult to tackle Maoist violence,” he said. The chief minister had on Monday hit back at Chidambaram for his comments after a visit to Lalgarh that 'the buck stopped at the chief minister’s table' on maintaining law and order in West Bengal and asked him to ‘mind’ his language.

An angry Bhattacharjee had said Chidambaram’s remark criticising him for inter-party clashes in the Left-ruled state was not the 'language of politicians'.

"What is the situation in the country now? He should perform his own duty. I am carrying out my responsibilities," the chief minister had said.

Bhattacharjee today said he would talk to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Naxal issue after his return from a week-long visit to the United States and Brazil beginning tomorrow.

“We should revamp our plans and operations. That is very important,” he said, adding “all of us should give the matter a serious thought.”

The chief minister said his government was trying to improve its operations against the Maoists.

“"I am not satisfied with the situation (on account of fight against Maoists). We have to do more,” he said.

At his press conference today, the chief minister also said Trinamool Congress was “hand-in-glove” with Maoists and that he had conveyed this to Chidambaram, who “did not like it.”