Fundamentalists behind violence: Khurana

By Our Special Correspondent

AHMEDABAD, AUG. 26. The BJP national vice-president, Mr. Madanlal Khurana, who is in-charge of Gujarat affairs, today accused ``fundamentalists'' of deliberately creating the disturbances in Ahmedabad by giving ``communal and political colour to a non- issue''.

Even as the Ahmedabad city Police Commissioner, Mr P.C. Pande, said that a portion of a place of worship was damaged by a police vehicle while negotiating a turn, Mr. Khurana told mediapersons that it was damaged by fundamentalist elements. Stating that the Police Commissioner was ``no judge to decide the truth'', Mr. Khurana said the facts would be known only after the report of the intelligence bureau inquiry, ordered by the Chief Minister, Mr. Keshubhai Patel.

He said the intelligence bureau would inquire about the elements behind the pamphlets in the name of ``Muslim Traders Association'' accusing the Bajrang Dal activists of attacking the Muslim vendors for refusing to contribute for the Ganesh Mahotsava. Claiming that the Dal activists were not involved in the attack, Mr. Khurana said the ``fundamentalists'' blew the incident out of proportion to give it communal and political colour and issued a bandh call.

Curfew relaxed

Meanwhile, the situation in the Dariapur locality remained peaceful and the two-hour curfew relaxation given this evening for women and children passed off without any untoward incident. The police denied rumours that a person wounded in stabbing in Kalupur locality on Friday died in hospital today.

Mr. Khurana is here in connection with the Sabarmati Assembly and the Sabarkantha Lok Sabha byelections scheduled for September 20.

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