Chidambaram offered to quit after Maoist massacre?

Home minister P Chidambaram, who wrote to prime minister Manmohan Singh accepting "full responsibility" for the massacre of 76 security personnel in Chhattisgarh, had also offered to step down, government sources indicated Friday.

The home minister had also written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi accepting blame for Tuesday's attack in a Bastar forest, the worst Maoist assault on the state since the insurgency began more than four decades ago, an official privy to the letter said.

He added that there was "no question" of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi accepting the resignation offer as Chidambaram has largely been hailed for his role in handling internal security management.

As speculation mounted, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of a function here not to believe rumours. He was answering a question if Chidambaram had indeed offered to resign.

Earlier in the day, Chidambaram said at a function of the Central Reserve Police Force that he accepted "full responsibility" for the massacre and that the "buck stops at my desk".