Calcutta, Dec. 31: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today wrote to P. Chidambaram expressing “astonishment” at the “deliberate leakage” of the Union home minister’s letters to him and saying he was unable to suggest a synonym for “harmad” as requested by the Congress leader.

“I wanted not to open all our correspondences before the media but to discuss with you the problems when I meet you in Delhi. But as you have already released the correspondence between us to the media, I feel compelled to write further on the issues raised by you,” the chief minister’s letter, faxed to the Union home ministry office in Delhi at 4.45pm, says.

“I cannot accept the deliberate leakage of the letters to the Press,” it adds.

The contents of Chidambaram’s letters to the chief minister, dated December 21 and December 30, had been made public by the home ministry.

In the first letter, the home minister had asked Bhattacharjee to disarm CPM cadres and referred to them as “harmad vahini”. The chief minister denied the presence of armed cadres in his reply on December 28 and objected to the use of the word “harmad”.

Chidambaram wrote back yesterday reaffirming the presence of armed cadres in Jungle Mahal and requested Bhattacharjee to “suggest another word or phrase to describe” them. In another letter, the home minister urged the chief minister to visit Delhi and discuss the “subject” (of armed cadres).

Officials in the chief minister’s secretariat today said he was “taken aback” when news of the “leaks” reached him and decided to “send a strong message” to Chidambaram.

“He was astonished at the leaks. He felt these leaks would mark the beginning of an unhealthy culture in the Centre-state relationship,” said a senior official in Bhattacharjee’s secretariat.

Asked why he wrote another letter despite having replied to Chidambaram’s correspondence, Bhattacharjee told reporters before leaving Writers’ this evening: “Because the letters (of Chidambaram) were made public.”

In his letter today, Bhattacharjee expressed his inability to offer a synonym for harmad. “I objected to the use of the word ‘harmad’ for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, you have proposed to replace it with any better word that I may suggest. I am sorry I cannot offer you any such word since I am unable to accept your attitude towards Left Front workers in our state and also your observation regarding failure of law and order in certain areas,” the chief minister wrote.

Bhattacharjee chose not to give a direct reply to Chidambaram’s query, expressed in the December 21 and 30 letters, on the “role of the security forces (if) armed cadres continue to take upon themselves the duties of maintaining law and order”.

The chief minister’s reply says: “So far your suggestion to disarm and demobilise ‘armed cadres’ is concerned, I assure you that our policy is to take appropriate administrative steps against all armed groups who may try to disturb law and order.”

Bhattacharjee also wrote about “the Trinamul-Maoist nexus”, an accusation he had made in his earlier letter too. “You are aware that there are clinching evidence of the encouragement and support that the Maoists are getting from Trinamul Congress. Unfortunately you have chosen not to mention this problem in your letter,” he added.

He also accused Trinamul of failing to help in the efforts to stop political violence. “I deeply deplore all deaths in such clashes irrespective of their political affiliations.... I am trying my best to put a stop to such violence. Unfortunately, TMC is not cooperating with the administration in this effort and you are fully aware of this,” he wrote.

Bhattacharjee assured Chidambaram that the situation in Maoist-affected areas was improving. “While I share your anxiety… I again assure you that the situation is changing for the better,” he wrote.

The chief minister told Chidambaram he would meet him “as early as possible”. The home minister had given Bhattacharjee a four-and-a-half-day window next week — from the evening of January 3 to January 7 — to meet him in Delhi.