<p>The ministry, in a statement, gave details of the dates of issue and delivery of the letter which Bhattacharjee and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) alleged reached the media before it reached the chief minister. <br /><br />"The home minister's letter to the chief minister, West Bengal was sent by Speed Post on Dec 22, 2010 under No.ED468157705IN. It reached Kolkata GPO on 24.12.2010 at 6 a.m. <br /><br />The letter should, therefore, have been delivered on 24.12.2010 which was a working day," an official release from the home ministry said.<br /><br />"Alok Sharma, General Manager, India Post vide his letter dated 27.12.2010 has apologised for the delay in the delivery of the article," it said. <br /><br />CPI-M had alleged that while the media knew about the letter Dec 24, it reached the West Bengal chief minister Dec 27. <br /><br />According to sources, the letter dated Dec 21 reached Kolkata GPO Dec 24. However, with Dec 25 and 26 being holidays, it was delivered to the chief minister Dec 27.<br /><br />The party had also alleged that the purpose of the letter was to serve the interests of the Trinamool Congress, the state's main opposition party.<br /><br />Chidambaram in his letter had said that complaints received by the central government indicate that armed cadres of the CPI-M were deployed in a covert manner under the guise of 'village protection groups' to guard against Maoist attacks.<br /><br />"There is evidence to show that the camps are mostly located in CPI-M offices and those of local cadres. It is a matter of grave concern that these cadres have been provided with firearms," he had said.<br /></p>
<p>The ministry, in a statement, gave details of the dates of issue and delivery of the letter which Bhattacharjee and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) alleged reached the media before it reached the chief minister. <br /><br />"The home minister's letter to the chief minister, West Bengal was sent by Speed Post on Dec 22, 2010 under No.ED468157705IN. It reached Kolkata GPO on 24.12.2010 at 6 a.m. <br /><br />The letter should, therefore, have been delivered on 24.12.2010 which was a working day," an official release from the home ministry said.<br /><br />"Alok Sharma, General Manager, India Post vide his letter dated 27.12.2010 has apologised for the delay in the delivery of the article," it said. <br /><br />CPI-M had alleged that while the media knew about the letter Dec 24, it reached the West Bengal chief minister Dec 27. <br /><br />According to sources, the letter dated Dec 21 reached Kolkata GPO Dec 24. However, with Dec 25 and 26 being holidays, it was delivered to the chief minister Dec 27.<br /><br />The party had also alleged that the purpose of the letter was to serve the interests of the Trinamool Congress, the state's main opposition party.<br /><br />Chidambaram in his letter had said that complaints received by the central government indicate that armed cadres of the CPI-M were deployed in a covert manner under the guise of 'village protection groups' to guard against Maoist attacks.<br /><br />"There is evidence to show that the camps are mostly located in CPI-M offices and those of local cadres. It is a matter of grave concern that these cadres have been provided with firearms," he had said.<br /></p>