The long-awaited meeting between Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in Delhi to discuss law and order in the state, including the January 7 Lalgarh killing, might take place between January 17 and 19.

“We are trying to fix up two meetings with the Home Minister and Prime Minister between January 17 and 19,” CM’s secretariat sources in Kolkata told the news agency.

The Chief Minister has sought time from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too for a meeting, the sources said.

Earlier, the Chief Minister had said that he would be able to visit Delhi only in the third week of this month following Chidamabaram’s letter on the Netai killings in Lalgarh police station area by suspected CPI(M) armed cadres that left seven dead.

Chidamabaram had requested the Chief Minister to ‘reschedule all appointments’ and visit Delhi ‘immediately’.

A letter war had started after Chidamabaran had pointed to the virtual collapse of law and order in some parts of the state.

He had also questioned the role of central forces in anti-Maoist operations when CPI(M) armed cadre took it upon themselves the duties of law and order.

Bhattacharjee had taken exception to the use of the word ‘harmad’ in Chidamabaran’s letter and said “I strongly object to your using the word ‘harmad’ to mean CPI-M party workers without knowing the meaning of the nasty word coined by Trinamool Congress.”