NEW DELHI, March 18: Confronted by a tepid criticism from key allies and a divided opposition that seems to be groping for an elusive spine in the face of a rightwing reign of terror, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee gently tweaked the ears of his more fanatical Hindu nationalist colleagues on Monday, but not before expressing sympathy for their leader who has been fasting for more than a day amid reports of failing health.

Simultaneously, even as the government was poised to win a key vote in the Lok Sabha for the rehashed anti-terrorist POTO bill in a late night sitting on Monday, only a solitary leftist deputy rose to say that an virulent attack on the state assembly in Orissa by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) terror brigades, was similar to the armed assault on the parliament on Dec 13.

For the record, the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s key allies like Trinamool Congress, Samata Party and Janata Dal-United demanded in the Lok Sabha a ban on the VHP and Bajrang Dal for storming the Orissa Assembly on Saturday.

Expressing concern over the incident, D.P. Yadav (JD-U) said “fundamentalism in any form should not be allowed in the country and organisations like Bajrang Dal and VHP should be banned”.

How could democracy function in the country when democratic institutions like the Assembly are attacked by such groups, Yadav asked. “We should not allow communal harmony to be disturbed within the country and what has happened in Orissa is a matter of concern,” he said.

Speaking in a similar vein, Prabhunath Singh (Samata) suggested the use of POTO to ban VHP and Bajrang Dal, saying the atmosphere being created by incidents like the storming of the Orissa Assembly was not conducive for functioning of democracy.

Nitish Sengupta of the West Bengal-based Trinamool Congress said as the two organisations involved in the incident had not said a word on their behaviour and so, “there is need for stronger action against them”.

Terming the violence “an attack on parliamentary democracy” the Opposition also demanded an immediate ban on the VHP and Bajrang Dal.

Raising the issue communist deputy Somnath Chatterjee said that over 500 people belonging to the VHP and Bajrang Dal armed with trishuls and shouting “Jai Shri Ram and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zindabad” entered the assembly premises and indulged in vandalism. The activists ransacked the rooms of the chief minister and ministers, roughed up members and misbehaved with women staff.

“There is no qualitative differences between the Dec 13 attack on Parliament and the Oct 1 attack on J&K Assembly and the one that occurred in Bhubaneshwar on Saturday,” said the CPI(M) leader.

The Rajya Sabha also adopted a resolution that voiced its “deep concern and anguish” over the March 16 attack and recommended “stern and deterrent action against the guilty persons”.