Minority panel, Keshubhai trade charges

NEW DELHI, JAN 22: The National Minorities Commission is of the view that the recent attacks on Christians in Gujarat were organised and ...

NEW DELHI, JAN 22: The National Minorities Commission is of the view that the recent attacks on Christians in Gujarat were organised and the State government had failed to protect them. But Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel has charged the Commission with coming out with a 8220;biased and one-sided report8221;.

The Commission member, Prof Bawa Singh today told reporters at Moga in Punjab that the Commission was of the opinion that the attacks were made in an organised manner and state government had failed to protect the minority community.

Prof Singh, who was a member of the commission team that visited Gujarat, said the final report would be submitted to the Centre by the month-end and the full Commission would call on President K R Narayanan on February 1 with recommendations for the safety of the minorities, who were feeling insecure in Gujarat. The interim report had already been submitted to the Union Home Minister L K Advani.

Patel told reporters here the Commission had asked the State administration togive a report on the incidents of attacks by January 20, but came out with a 8220;biased and one sided8221; interim report without waiting for it. Patel said the basic cause of the incidents was conversions which led to tension among a section of tribals in the Dangs district, but the situation there was now under control.

The Commission in its interim report indicted State government and asked the Centre to invoke Constitutional provisions to direct it to check anti-minority violence and protect the state from 8220;internal disturbance8221;.

Meanwhile, security around the official residences of Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and Minister of State for Home, Haren Pandya, in Gandhinagar has been tightened after the Dangs district collector received a letter threatening the leaders8217; lives, yesterday.

The letter, suspected to be issued by a Tamil Nadu-based Muslim outfit, also threatened Bardoli MLA Rajnikant Rajwadi, former collector of Dangs district Bharat Joshi, Vishwa Hindu Parishad VHP Dangs unit president,Pradip Patil and the chief of the Dangs unit of BJP, official sources said here.