Sept. 19: The Centre has warned Orissa and Karnataka against the spate of attacks on Christians invoking a constitutional provision that is a step away from the Article 356 used to dismiss governments.

Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta said the governments had been asked to take effective measures to bring the situation under control. Over 20 people have died and dozens of churches and prayer halls have been ransacked by activists suspected to be affiliated to the Sangh parivar in the two states over the last few weeks.

Stung by criticism that it was doing little to contain violence — both communal and terrorist-sponsored — in the country, the Centre sent the warnings to the states ruled by the NDA under the rarely-used Article 355.

The article, along with 352 and 356, is one of the three controversial “emergency provisions” in the Constitution.

Article 355 states: “It shall be the duty of the Union to protect every state against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the government of every state is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.”

The warning — or “advisory” in polite bureaucratic jargon — came after Congress leaders from the two states and elsewhere pressured the Centre to act against the BJP and BJD-BJP governments in Bangalore and Bhubaneswar.

They stressed that if central home minister Shivraj Patil could be lambasted for his “inaction” against terrorism, he should not be “passive” against communalism either.

Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik, while denying having received any letter from the Centre, described the move as “unfortunate and politically motivated”. “The Centre has targeted two non-Congress-ruled states, when there are disturbances going on in other parts of the country,” he said.

Naveen said that right from the time when violence erupted in the southern district of Kandhamal, the state government had tried its best to maintain peace and order. Rather, he alleged, it was the Centre that had been “slow” in sending paramilitary forces to Orissa.

The BJP, which has pilloried the Centre for being “soft” on terror, lashed out at the government for the directives under Article 355, describing the move as “politically motivated, prejudicial, patently discriminatory and an attempt by the UPA to divert the attention from terrorism”.

Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the governments of Orissa and Karnataka had taken all requisite steps to contain violence.

“A fortnight ago, a writ petition was filed by Archbishop Raphael Cheenath in the Supreme Court, requesting for relief, including a directive under Article 355 against the Orissa government. Last week, the additional solicitor-general, appearing for the Union of India, told the court that the situation in Orissa is fast becoming normal,” he said.