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Chidambaram offered to quit after Maoist carnage, but PM said no

April 09, 2010 14:20 IST
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's media advisor Harish Khare confirmed to rediff.com that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rejected Home Minister P Chidambaram's resignation. Chidambaram had offered to resign on April 7, a day after 76 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were massacred by Maoists in Dantewada. 

Although there were some murmurs inside the Congress party against his handling of the situation, it is important to note that Chidambaram has, largely, got support from even from the opposition Bharatiya Janata party after the massacre. The BJP has said that Chidambaram is the best bet for the job.

Chidambaram too had praised Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, of the BJP, for his co-operation in the fight against the Maoists.

The country's federal structure is such that state governments have to fully depend on the Centre for logistics and budget, while the Centre can fulfill its goals of internal security only through the former.

In view of this, it is obvious that Chidambaram's offer to resign could be a manifestation of the dynamics of the Congress party's internal politics.

Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi