Kolkata:
First, it was a letter by the Home Minister that was made public before it was received by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Now, Mr Bhattacharjee has returned the favour by sharing at a rally the gist of his reply - which he says will be written tomorrow.
"Chidambaram has given a letter to keep the TMC happy. I will ask him, "Do you support the TMC which supports the Maoists?" he said.
The original letter from Home Minister P Chidambaram ordered Mr Bhattacharjee to disband armed cadres of his party, the CPM. Mr Bhattacharjee and other Left members say they have no doubt that the letter was politically motivated to keep Mamata Banerjee happy. Ms Banerjee's party, the Trinamool Congress or TMC, is a key ally of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.
"The media is fully briefed about the letter even before the Chief Minister gets it. This shows that the purpose of the letter is to serve the political interests of the Trinamool Congress which is part of the Union Government," the CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement in New Delhi.
In his letter, Chidambaram questioned the West Bengal government on its use of central forces in the state, saying the killing of activists of political parties point to a "virtual collapse" of law and order.
His letter came as Ms Banerjee alleged misuse of central security forces in the state and offered to quit if her charge was proved wrong.
And senior Conrgess leader Pranab Mukherjee, known to be trusted and liked by Ms Banerjee, today echoed her party line.
(Watch: 'Jungle raj in West Bengal, says Pranab) "In the last 34 years of Left rule in West Bengal, murders and killings have increased. There is a jungle raj going on. 600 congress supporters have been killed in Murshidabad. If the government can't control law and order, why should anyone listen to this government?"