NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD, 3 September — The Supreme Court rejected yesterday a plea by the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government for early elections in the riot-torn western state of Gujarat, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.

The government had sought the guidance of the court after the Election Commission rejected plans by the BJP to hold elections in Gujarat ahead of schedule. The commission had said the state had not yet fully recovered from the recent Hindu-Muslim riots to be ready for polls before October as the BJP wanted.

Officials say more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in the violence. Human rights activists put the death toll at around 2,500. Hundreds of survivors are still in camps and mosques, too scared to return home.

Critics say the BJP, long accused of a bias against minority Muslims, seeks to exploit the deep religious divide in Gujarat by bringing forward elections due early next year.

The BJP, which heads the central government and rules Gujarat, sought the court’s opinion whether the commission was within its constitutional rights to reject an early vote. The top court said there was nothing wrong in holding elections in the state in November or December as stated by the commission, PTI reported.

“Perhaps November-December is the most likely date for holding polls. So Gujarat is not an issue before us,” PTI quoted a five-judge bench of the court as saying. The court also refused to deliver before October a final verdict on the commission’s constitutional rights, as the government wanted. “If you think a decision can be given by the October deadline it is impossible for all practical purposes,” it said.

The BJP says under the constitution elections must be held by October, six months after the state assembly last met.

But the commission says it is not bound by that provision and is free to decide if a state is ready to vote.

Militants eye base in Gujarat

Meanwhile, a senior police official said yesterday militant groups based in Pakistan are trying to secure a foothold in Gujarat by recruiting and training young Muslims.

Vipul Vijoy Singh, head of Gujarat’s anti-terrorist squad, said militant groups were trying to exploit a deep divide between Hindus and Muslims after the riots.

“It’s a fertile ground for militant groups trying to set up a base. There would be people who want to take revenge for the killings of Muslims but do not have the means to do it,” he said.

Singh said Lakshar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed — both banned by Pakistan — were the two groups most active in trying to recruit Muslim youth in Gujarat.

“The riots have made Gujarat vulnerable. The militant groups are focusing on indoctrinating the youth,” Singh said.

Non-government groups say young Muslims especially could become easy targets of fundamentalist organizations trying to seek revenge for the killings of innocent Muslims. “There is a real fear that Pak-based groups could take advantage of the situation in Gujarat. It will be easy for them because the Muslims were very badly mauled and they are angry,” said Hanif Lakdawala, a social activist.

Singh said police arrested six people, two with links to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, last week for plotting to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Vishwa Hindu Parishad Secretary Pravin Togadia.

Non-government groups and the opposition had accused Modi of failing to check the religious violence, while Togadia, a firebrand Hindu leader, was accused of fueling the riots.