In order to maintain law and order after the court verdict, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan met with political and religious leaders, newspaper editors and heads of TV news channels Tuesday evening to discuss the issue. Chavan asked them to ensure that the Ayodhya court verdict does not lead to communal tension or riots.

Heeding Chavan's advice, leaders of religious and political parties including the Shiv Sena and the BJP have appealed to the people in the state to maintain peace and harmony.

"No provocative statement will be issued after the court verdict and the people of the state should extend cooperation to the government machinery to maintain peace and harmony," said the political leaders and religious heads at the meeting.

Apart from the chief minister, the meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, senior Sena leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawade, Mumbai BJP chief Raj Purhohit, NCP leader and minister Jayant Patil, Republican Party of India (Athavale) President Ramdas Athavale, Samajwadi Party state chief and legislator Abu Asim Azmi and independent legislator Hitendra Thakur.

There was, however, no representative from Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena present at the meeting. A government official told Arab News that an invitation was sent to Raj, but it was not known why the MNS boycotted the meeting.

Meanwhile, a sophisticated control room linked to all the police headquarters in the state began functioning from Wednesday at the government secretariat. The special control room was set up as a precautionary measure to deal with any unruly situation after the Babri mosque verdict is announced on Friday.

Home Minister R.R. Patil in a statement on Wednesday said: "As the Home Minister of Maharashtra, I urge the people to maintain decorum, peace as also law and order, and not to give in to their emotions and fall prey to provocations if any in case of eventualities. My police force is here to serve you and I assure you of their cooperation. Kindly help us in maintaining law and order in the state," Patil added

Echoing Chief Minister Chavan's warning that those trying to create law and order situation would be dealt with sternly, Patil said: "Around 99.99 percent people hate violence. But some criminal-minded people want to create trouble and mischief. As a precautionary measure some people are being detained."

In spite of tough talk by the Chavan government, some elements in both the communities may try to disrupt peace and stoke communal tension, said a senior Congress leader.