New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Tuesday accused Home Minister P. Chidambaram of making "patently false" charges after he rated West Bengal the worst ruled state.

 
 "This is a ludicrous statement coming from a person who belongs to a government which is presiding over the most corrupt regime in independent India," the party said in a statement.
 
 "The absurdity of the (minister's) statement can be gauged from the fact that on the very day when Chidambaram made the statement, West Bengal was given an award for panchayati raj programme rural development by the central government," the party said.
 
 "It is shocking that the home minister goes to West Bengal and does not speak a word of condemnation of the Maoist violence which has led to the death of 265 cadres and supporters of the CPI-M and the Left Front since the last Lok Sabha election."
 
 Instead, the party added, "he has leveled the patently false charge that it is the CPI-M which is responsible for the killings by presenting wrong figures".
 
 "By covering up the Maoist violence..., Chidambaram has betrayed the elementary duty entrusted to him as the home minister of the country.
 
 "The egregious and partisan manner in which Chidambaram is behaving will only call into question the way he is handling the key office of home minister in the government."