According to leader of the Opposition Amarsinh Chaudhary, the government is ``avoiding'' these issues because they are ``inconvenient''. This is however countered by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Mehta who claims the Opposition does not ``know the rules''. But the fact remains that the government hasn't considered it necessary to make a statement on any of these issues. Some of the incidents that made headlines in local newspapers in the current month:

In the first week of July, students from other states, who had got admission to the local B J Medical College after a competitive examination, were stripped, beaten and told to leave for good so that their seats couldbe filled by local students. No arrests were made.

* On July 17, BJP supporters entered the campus of a school run by a Christian organisation in Zhankhav village in south Gujarat, dug up the playground, and damaged windows and furniture. They claimed that a court had declared one of them as the owner of the land. In retaliation, another group went on the rampage, attacking shops and houses.

* On July 20, activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal stormed the I P Mission School in Rajkot and burnt copies of the New Testament. They alleged that inserted in the copies of the holy book, which had been distributed to the students, was a handbill asking them to convert to Christianity. No one was arrested.

* The same day, a mob of 40 armed with sticks and knives, went on the rampage in the prestigious Centre for Environment and Planning Technology in Ahmedabad, attacking students and not even sparing the girls. Before leaving, they took away three boys. The kidnapped boys were later freed, butone of the injured is still in hospital. No one was arrested.

* On July 21, a girl was knocked down by a municipal bus in Ahmedabad. An angry mob beat up the driver. As the panicked driver tried to get away, he ran over and killed a scooterist. The driver was lynched and the bus set afire. Municipal drivers went on a lightning strike, paralysing the bus service. No one was arrested.

In all these cases, the Opposition either failed to raise the issue, or did not do it effectively. Chaudhary blamed the government, saying it was misusing a convention, which is perhaps unique in Gujarat, that no matter could be raised without the permission of the minister concerned. ``Keshubhai Patel has asked his ministers not to agree to the raising of such matters,'' Chaudhary alleged.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Mehta dismissed the charge. The convention was established by the Congress, it existed when the BJP was in the opposition, ``but we never allowed the government to get away with anything'', saidMehta, adding, ``Either they do not know the rules or they are not serious about these issues''.

Chaudhary said the Opposition was also hampered by the fact that, unlike Parliament or some other states, the Gujarat Assembly had no provision for zero hour or special mentions. They wanted a discussion on harassment of minorities, but the government did not agree ``because men of the Sangh Parivar are involved''. So they had to be content with submitting a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Chaudhary said.