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A political murder: Cong.

By Our Special Correspondent

AHMEDABAD MARCH 26. News of the daylight killing of the former Gujarat Minister of State for Home, Haren Pandya, sparked chaotic scenes in the State Assembly with the Leader of the Opposition, Amarsinh Chaudhary, and other Congress leaders describing it as a "political murder" and demanding the Modi Ministry's resignation. When the House reassembled in the afternoon second session, the Congress members hurled abuses at the treasury benches. However, the Government managed to adopt seven official bills including one to prevent religious conversions by force or lure.

In a clear indictment of the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, Mr. Chaudhary said Mr. Pandya had "endangered" his life ever since he refused to vacate the Ellisbridge seat last year to enable Mr. Modi to contest a byelection to the Assembly. Ellisbridge was the last seat to be decided by the party high command which dropped Mr. Pandya in deference to Mr. Modi's wishes and allocated it to one of Mr. Pandya's supporters.

A close confidant of the former Chief Minister, Keshubhai Patel, Mr. Pandya was about to be drafted in the BJP central committee and the order was to be signed in Delhi in a day or two when he was eliminated. It is said that a section of the powerful builders' lobby was also unhappy with Mr. Pandya. As the Minister of State for Home, he had detained a few builders under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act following the collapse of some buildings in the January 2001 killer earthquake.

Dismissing any communal angle in the murder, police sources said Mr. Pandya did not hold the Home portfolio during the Godhra carnage and the subsequent communal riots despite being in the Modi Ministry.

VHP calls for bandh

Meanwhile, the Gujarat unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the State Congress have called for a "Gujarat bandh" tomorrow to protest the murder.

The VHP State secretary, Dillip Trivedi, claimed that Mr. Pandya's murder was in continuation of similar attacks on VHP leaders in Vadodara and Ahmedabad, and urged Hindus to remain prepared to face fundamentalist forces in future.

Pointing out that there was a complete breakdown of the law and order machinery in the State, the Congress in statement wondered what protection the common people could expect in a State where the former Home Minister was not safe.

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