NEW DELHI, March 12: Frightened Muslim residents were fleeing the tense city of Ayodhya on Tuesday as rightwing Hindu groups braced to offer prayers at a controversial site near a razed mosque.

But like all dark clouds that eventually disperse there was a silver-lining too, possibly for the good of everyone at the receiving end of mindless blood-letting, as Hindu militants invited Amnesty International to record their own plight in West Bengal.

Reports said most Muslim residents in Ayodhya had fled and others were leaving for nearby Faizabad town as uncertainty and fear gripped the city. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, however, said that the current communal upsurge was a passing cloud and it would disperse soon.

In an effort to pressurize the Communist government in West Bengal to backtrack on its restrictions imposed on public demonstration of religious practices till March 15, the state’s unit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has threatened to move international human rights agencies including Amnesty International with “evidences” that the police opened unprovoked fire on “innocent Hindus” at Taldi in South 24 Parganas district last Sunday.

The VHP on Tuesday also cautioned the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxists (CPI-M) of facing a “Hindu wrath” after CPI-M state secretary Anil Biswas had told his party workers on Monday to keep tabs on all activities by rightwing Hindu groups whom he described as “fundamentalist elements.”

If the VHP move to invite the Amnesty succeeds it would certainly pave the way for Amnesty’s first visit to Kashmir too, where its involvement has been sought by militants and pro-freedom groups for several years. Amnesty has never been allowed into Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Vajpayee held consultations with key leaders to give final touches to the government’s stand on a petition coming up before the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking a ban on VHP’s prayer or pooja programme in Ayodhya on March 15.

The meeting was attended among others by Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani, Law Minister Arun Jaitley and Attorney General Soli Sorabjee.

Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Governor Vishnukant Shastri met the prime minister and briefed him about the security arrangements in Ayodhya. The governor assured Vajpayee that the state was fully prepared to tackle the situation in the temple town, ahead of the crucial Supreme Court hearing.

Security has also been strengthened in Lucknow. The Home Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, Naresh Dayal, has said that the movement of Hindu activists or kar sevaks in the state has been restricted.

“Entry of all people is being checked, not only to check ramsevaks but also the entry of terrorists, because we have that input also. So in all of UP’s districts, we are ensuring that ramsevaks do not move. If they do, we will disperse them or they will be arrested,” Dayal told Star News.

The entire Faizabad division has also been sealed. Outside vehicles are not being permitted without passes but kar sevaks belonging to groups like the Bajrang Dal are still moving in small batches towards Ayodhya. Most of them are not carrying any identification and are dressed as students.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has now said that it supports the proposal of a scaled down ceremony and not a symbolic pooja in Ayodhya on March 15.

The Babri Masjid Movement Coordination Committee (BMMCC) has asked Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to clarify his stand on the VHP’s demands.

BMMCC Convener Syed Shahabuddin also demanded that all access routes from Karsevakpuram and Ramsevakpuram to the acquired area should be blocked and minimum necessary force be used to defend it from trespass.

The BMMCC said it saw “clear signs of growing collusion and collaboration” between the Centre, RSS and VHP.

Since the Dec 6, 1992 violence, 18 people from the minority community have been killed and 425 houses damaged. Prior to that, Ayodhya had never been witness to a Hindu-Muslim skirmish.

Najmul Hasan Ghani, a Muslim leader told Star News: “We have already seen two Muslim casualties. Therefore, the administration should ensure that there is proper security and incidents such as those of 1992 are not repeated.”

As the government waits for the Supreme Court to decide whether even a symbolic ceremony can be allowed in the temple town on March 15, for Ayodhya’s small Muslim population, this promise seems to have brought little solace.